Orion is a PhD candidate and graduate teaching assistant at the Department of War Studies, King’s College London, and the International Relations Institute, University of São Paulo. His doctoral research focuses on symbolic facets of nuclear weapons and how symbolism, identity, and behavior articulate within the nuclear sphere. Orion’s main research interests encompass the culture and discourse around nuclear weapons, identity studies, arms control, nonproliferation, and post-positivist approaches to international security—particularly how symbolic perceptions of nuclear weapons are constructed and cultivated, embedded into state identity, and affect behavior and policy. Orion is also a senior editor at Strife Journal and the student representative for the International Studies Association’s Latin America and Caribbean Region (ISA-LAC). He holds a MA in international security from the University of Groningen and a BA in international relations from the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais.

I am most excited to work on projects that… help our understanding of how nuclear weapons are thought of and understood in order to change status-based symbolic perceptions around them.

I am looking for partners who can help me… fight and reverse “positive nuclear culture” and dismantle the crystallized regimes of nuclear truth through which nuclear weapons are portrayed and discussed.

A moment when I felt most inspired in my work was… when I, a non-Western/non-white early career scholar relatively unknown in the field, managed to present my research and engage in transparent debates with leading experts, and was encouraged to pursue my research and career goals despite all the systemic adversities stemming from my background.

Innovations in my field that I am most excited to work on… include the much needed yet still somewhat neglected opening of the field to subjective and non/post-positivist approaches to nuclear weapons and the impact of culture, narrative, semiotics, identity, and language on the study of nuclear politics.

Nomsa is cofounder and co-director of the West Coast chapter of Women of Color Advancing Peace & Security (WCAPS). She is also an MA candidate in nonproliferation, terrorism studies, and financial crime management at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, and a graduate research assistant at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. Previously, she served as diplomat at the Zimbabwe Permanent Mission in Geneva, focusing mainly on the disarmament portfolio. Nomsa has lived in Romania, Belgium, Tanzania, Canada, the United Kingdom, Zimbabwe, Switzerland, and now the United States. She is fluent in English, Shona, French, Romanian, and Kiswahili, and is passionate about preserving the planet for future generations. She obtained her LLB single hons degree at Brunel University, and her postgraduate diploma in legal practice (LPC) from the University of Law in Guildford, UK.

I am most excited to work on projects that… will create a cultural shift for the better, and make the field irrevocably more inclusive and diverse.

I am looking for partners who can help me… turn ideas and concepts into concrete, practical action.

A moment when I felt most inspired in my work was… when I rallied other countries and then voted on behalf of my country to recommend the drafting and creation of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. 

Innovations in my field that I am most excited to work on… include anything that will bring about a different, more innovative (and quite frankly) effective approach to tackling issues in the field, be it front or back of the house.

Sylvia is a doctoral researcher at King’s College London, where her research focuses on nuclear strategy and nonproliferation, Southern Asian security, and emerging technologies. She co-chairs both the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Working Group for Women of Color Advancing Peace & Security (WCAPS) and the Indian Women in International Relations Forum at Global Policy Insights. A CSIS Mid-Career Cadre scholar, Sylvia was previously an India-US Fellow at New America, an Accelerator Initiative Fellow at the Stanley Center for Peace and Security, a Scoville Fellow at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a Visiting Fellow at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, a Carnegie New Leader. She also worked in New Delhi at the Observer Research Foundation on India-US defense and security ties.

Sylvia has been invited to present papers, deliver talks, and participate in crisis simulation and Track II dialogues at various national and international forums. Her publications include book chapters, journal articles, and opinion pieces, and she was featured in Women in Foreign Policy. She holds a BA in political science from Hindu College, University of Delhi, an MSc in international relations from London School of Economics, and an MA in nonproliferation and terrorism studies from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies.

I am most excited to work on projects that… create a policy impact, strengthen gender equities, and are inclusive in nature.

I am looking for partners who can help me… navigate government policymaking in DC on nuclear weapons issues, and collaborate on projects that help reduce dangers at the intersection of nuclear weapons and emerging technologies.

A moment when I felt most inspired in my work was… when India and the United States partner and work together on defense and intelligence issues to make the Indo-Pacific region more stable and secure, and specifically signed the 123 Nuclear Agreement.

Innovations in my field that I am most excited to work on… include understanding the future of war and how militaries prepare; reducing nuclear dangers arising from misperceptions, miscalculations, and a false sense of deterrence stability at the nexus of emerging technologies and nuclear weapons; and underwater drones, particularly their potential ability to swarm and communicate with each other and eventually hunt and detect nuclear submarines.

Marion is a co-director at BASIC in London, where she leads the organization’s risk reduction, disarmament, and gender programs. She is interested in finding new approaches to security that are based in collaboration and inclusion, is always looking for connections between issues, and wants to develop innovative solutions for persistent problems in the nuclear and security policy space. This includes focusing on the role of emotions in international agreements.

I am most excited to work on projects that… bring together different policy areas or disciplines to advance interdisciplinary problem solving.

I am looking for partners who can help me… push my thinking further and learn about methods I haven’t yet discovered.

A moment when I felt most inspired in my work was… when the Swedish Foreign Minister launched the Stockholm Initiative in June 2019, on the basis of the Stepping Stones to Disarmament methodology we had developed at BASIC.

Innovations in my field that I am most excited to work on… are applying a new lens to old problems, such as the new conversations around finding solutions to reducing risks introduced by new intersections between different technologies.

Erin is program coordinator and research assistant for the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She has previously held internships at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), The Hudson Institute, and the US House of Representatives. Erin received her BA in international affairs with a certificate in global studies from the University of Georgia, where she was a Richard B. Russell Security Leadership Scholar. She is currently an MA candidate in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service.

I am most excited to work on projects that… require critical thinking and collaboration. 

I am looking for partners who can help me… see and think about issues in a different way. 

A moment when I felt most inspired in my work was… working on a big project where everyone on the team was equally enthused. I enjoy working on the topics that interest me but I think the team makes or breaks the work. 

Innovations in my field that I am most excited to work on… include fostering a more diverse workforce, building a strong and collaborative community, and creating a field that young people want to get into and stay in because they feel supported.

Valerie is executive director of the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control. She leads the organization’s research on weapons of mass destruction supply networks, used by governments and companies to support sanctions and counterproliferation actions. She is also editor of the Wisconsin Project’s Iran Watch website, which she created in 2003 to track and analyze Iran’s nuclear and missile programs and international efforts to counter these programs, and oversees the Wisconsin Project’s Risk Report, a comprehensive database of entities suspected of involvement in WMD proliferation. She leads outreach efforts in some 40 countries to support effective strategic trade controls, including through use of the Risk Report. Previously, Valerie worked in the Paris bureau of The New York Times and Newsweek and as a researcher in several Washington-based nonprofit institutes.

I am most excited to work on projects that… uncover information and bring it forward in an impactful way.

I am looking for partners who can help me… make our work more visible and reach more people.

A moment when I felt most inspired in my work was… engaging with government officials around the world and discussing how our research can support their work.

Innovations in my field that I am most excited to work on… involve the availability of open source information and the analytics that allow broad use of these data.