Abstract
In this talk, I will give a brief overview of the resurgent role of nuclear weapons in national security strategies, the threat that it poses to the public, and potential risk mitigation approaches. Recent events, including U.S. withdrawal from arms control treaties and the pursuit of new nuclear weapons capabilities in the nine nuclear weapons states, suggest we may be facing a revived nuclear arms race with its dangerous consequences. In this context, during the past two years, a group of US physical scientists has held more than 100 colloquia on nuclear weapons, reaching more than 4,000 attendees, and recruited over 850 scientists to the Physicists Coalition for Nuclear Threat Reduction through which scientists educate themselves and then help educate Congress about the renewed risks of nuclear war and the possibilities for reducing those risks. Members have participated in three advocacy campaigns aimed at ensuring that explosive nuclear testing does not resume, extending the New START treaty, and enacting a no-first-use policy.

After the talk, Dr. Di Fulvio will hold a discussion for any attendees interested in getting involved in nuclear policy advocacy or the Physicists Coalition for Nuclear Threat Reduction.

Bio
Angela Di Fulvio is an assistant professor in the Department of Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering (NPRE) at the University of Illinois, director of the Neutron Measurement Laboratory, and a researcher in the technical aspects of nuclear safeguards and nonproliferation. Before joining NPRE, Angela was a research scientist at the University of Michigan where she worked on radiation detection within the framework of the Consortium for Verification Technology. Her current interests include the development of detection systems for safeguards and nonproliferation applications and techniques and algorithms for the radiation protection of the patient in radiation therapy.