About Nuclear Scholars Initiative Class Bios Class of 2023 Class of 2022 Class of 2021 Class of 2020 Class of 2019 Class of 2018 The Nuclear Scholars Initiative aims to provide top graduate students and young professionals from around the country with a unique venue to interact and dialogue with senior experts on nuclear weapons issues. Candidates with less than seven years of professional experience are welcome to apply. Application Information The application deadline for the 2023 cohort of Nuclear Scholars is now closed. Click below to register interest for the 2024 cohort. Register Interest for the Class of 2024 Benefits/Opportunities Addressing an increasingly complex array of nuclear weapons challenges in the future will require talented next generation professionals with the necessary technical, operational, and policy expertise. To help develop this expertise and connect rising nuclear experts, PONI runs an annual Nuclear Scholars Initiative (NSI) for a group of select graduate students and young professionals from diverse and inclusive backgrounds and perspectives. NSI provides these individuals with a unique venue to interact, dialogue, and gain in-depth knowledge on nuclear weapons, arms control, nonproliferation, and other related challenges. Those accepted into the program are hosted once per month from January to June at CSIS in Washington, DC where they participate in daylong workshops that include discussions with senior experts, professional development seminars, break-out discussions, debates, simulations, and table-top exercises. Topics include deterrence, regional analysis, arms control, nonproliferation, nuclear security, and emerging technology. Developing your research, writing, and analytic skills are critical components of the Nuclear Scholars Initiative. Scholars are expected to prepare a research product during their time as a scholar. Options include writing an article for the annual PONI journal, a short analysis piece for the Next Generation Nuclear Network (NGNN) website, or a collaborative research project. There will also be opportunities to present your research at a PONI conference. During the six months, scholars will be given the opportunity to hone their research product through reviews with their peers, members of the Mid-Career Cadre, and senior experts. PONI can cover travel costs for select participants located outside of the Washington, DC. For the 2023 cohort, PONI is pleased to offer a limited number of spots to non-U.S. citizens and will cover international travel costs for each monthly meeting, however if accepted participants do not wish to travel a virtual attendance option will be provided. While we aim to host programming in person, due to the on-going Covid-19 pandemic we are prepared to host the meetings virtually if necessary. At this time, we cannot confirm if the meetings will be in-person. If you are selected, you will be notified the dates of the meetings and if they will be held in-person or virtually. For more information reach out to Niko Adamopoulos (Nadamopoulos@csis.org).