This Week in DC: Events

Our October Biodefense Policy Seminar is this Wednesday! Dr. Paul Walker, chemical weapons destruction expert, 2013 Right Livelihood laureate, and Director at Green Cross International will discuss chemical weapons disarmament in Syria. For more information, please see below or visit our Biodefense Policy Seminar page here.

Tuesday, October 15

DARPA Director Dr. Arati Prabhakar
Elliot School of International Affairs
3:30PM

Arati Prabhakar, Director, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) A reception will follow. RSVP: spi@gwu.edu Sponsored by the Center for International Science and Technology Policy.

Wednesday, October 16

Featured Event: “Syria and Chemical Weapons: Building a World Free of Weapons of Mass Destruction” – GMU Biodefense Policy Seminar
Speaker: Dr. Paul Walker
Location: Meese Conference Hall, GMU Fairfax Campus
Time: 7:20PM

Paul Walker will join us to discuss Syrian proliferation concerns. Dr. Walker is the International Director of the Environmental Security and Sustainability (ESS) Program for Green Cross International (GCI) and manages the Washington DC office for GCI and its US national affiliate, Global Green USA. The ESS Program is an international effort to facilitate and advocate the safe and environmentally sound demilitarization, nonproliferation, and remediation of nuclear, chemical, biological, and conventional weapons stockpiles. Walker has worked, spoken, and published widely in the related areas of international security, threat reduction, non-proliferation, weapons demilitarization, and environmental security for over three decades and took part in the first on-site inspection by US officials of the Russian chemical weapons stockpile at Shchuch’ye in the Kurgan Oblast in 1994. Since that time he has worked closely with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), US and Russian officials, the US Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Program, the G-8 Global Partnership, and other multilateral regimes to help foster cooperative, timely, and safe elimination of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and related systems. He has helped to permanently eliminate over 50,000 tons of chemical weapons and millions of munitions in six countries to date. Dr. Walker was also recently awarded the 2013 Right Livelihood Award, widely known as the alternate Nobel Peace Prize. To read more about the award and Dr. Walker’s work, visit their website here.

“Minimum Deterrence: Examining the Evidence”
Hudson Institute
12:00 – 1:00PM

Recently, President Obama called for large reductions in the U.S. nuclear arsenal from the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty levels. Such reductions could leave the U.S. with roughly 1,000 weapons. The President’s announcement has renewed the debate over the appropriate size of the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal.

Turkey and the Syrian Crisis: Unending Challenges of an Unending War
Georgetown University
1:00PM

Even though no country in the region has been immune from the fallout effects of the Syrian war, Turkey has been particularly hit hard. In addition to the ever-growing refugee problem, the war has also exacerbated Turkey’s own sectarian balance. The growing Kurdish autonomy in Northern Syria is also posing its own set of challenges to the Turkish government which is faced with mounting domestic opposition and a fragile Kurdish peace process. Join this discussion on the U.S and Turkish policies on Syria, the role of the Kurds in the war, and security and humanitarian challenges faced by Turkey.

A Statesman’s Forum with United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson
Brookings Institution
2:15 – 3:15 PM

On October 16, Foreign Policy at Brookings will host United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson for a Statesman’s Forum focusing on the United Nations’ current agenda and upcoming work. Among the key issues to be addressed by Ambassador Eliasson are the conflict in Syria, Iran’s diplomatic openings, developments in Afghanistan and the UN and its post-2015 development strategy. Brookings Acting Vice President and Director of Foreign Policy Ted Piccone will moderate the discussion.

Thursday, October 17

Launching the World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2013
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
12:30 – 2:30PM

The Heinrich Böll Foundation, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) are delighted to invite you to a luncheon discussion with Mycle Schneider, the lead author of the World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2013. The plummeting natural gas prices, sovereign debt crisis, proliferation concerns and improved economic conditions for renewable energy sources have created a challenging global environment for nuclear power. Contrary to what the nuclear industry would have us believe that we are seeing a global renaissance in nuclear power, nuclear power the world over is on the decline. This is especially true in the US, where operating reactors are being closed as uneconomic for the first time in 15 years. The World Nuclear Industry Status Report provides a vital reality check to the current situation of the global nuclear industry as well as identifying important nuclear trends

Friday, October 18

Viruses: Evolution Friend or Foe?
Georgetown University Medicine
12:00PM

Presented By: Chuan (River) Xiao, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry, Department of Chemistry University of Texas at El Paso.