Month: October 2015

Week in DC Events: 10.5-10.9.2015

by spopescu, posted in Uncategorized

MONDAY 10.5
Come listen and chat with Dr. David R. Franz, former commander of USAMRIID, about balancing research and regulations when it comes to dual-use!
Date & Time: Monday, October 5, 2015, 4:30-6pm
Location: Hanover Hall, L-003 George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, see map
Dr. Franz was the Chief Inspector on three United Nations Special Commission biological warfare inspection missions to Iraq and served as technical advisor on long-term monitoring.  He also served as a member of the first two US-UK teams that visited Russia in support of the Trilateral Joint Statement on Biological Weapons and as a member of the Trilateral Experts’ Committee for biological weapons negotiations.  He previously served as member of the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB). Dr. Franz currently serves on several committees including the National Academy of Sciences Committee on International Security and Arms Control and the National Research Council Board on Life Sciences. Dr. Franz is a leader in the areas of cooperative threat reduction and health security and an expert in the development of U.S. regulations for biological threat reduction and biological security.  Dr. Franz will discuss the history and current debates related to U.S. and international regulations for select agents, dual use research of concern, and gain-of-function experiments.

Innovation and the Defense Industrial Base

Heritage Foundation

Date & Time: Monday, October 5, 2015, 11:30am-1pm
Location Heritage Foundation214 Massachusetts Ave NE, Washington, D.C. 20002 (map)
Defense reform sparks a great deal of debate in Congress, in the Pentagon, and across Washington. When it comes to acquisition and innovation, senior Pentagon leaders have heavily invested in outreach to Silicon Valley and emerging technology companies. The Department of Defense must do a better job of acquiring innovative technology, but how does this drive for innovation affect the defense industrial base? In the first of a series of public events on defense reform, this program will feature opening comments by Dr. Jerry McGinn followed by a panel discussion on this critical component of our national defense industrial base.

TUESDAY 10.6
Analyzing and Assessing Saudi Arabian Defense Strategy National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations
Date & Time: Tuesday, October 6, 2015, 10am-noon
Location: Rayburn House Office Building45 Independence Ave SW Washington, DC 20515 (map) Gold Room (2168)

The featured specialist will be HRH Navy Captain (Ret.) Prince Sultan bin Khalid Al-Faisal Al Sa’ud – President, Al Joshan Security Services; Former Commander, Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) Counter-Insurgency Special Operations Task Force; Designer and Inaugural Commandant, RSNF Special Forces Training Center. Serving as context provider and moderator will be Dr. John Duke Anthony – Founding President and CEO, National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations; and Member, U.S. Department of State Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy and Subcommittee on Sanctions.

WEDNESDAY 10.7
Open or Closed Borders? Understanding Europe’s Migration Challenge
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Date & Time: Wednesday, October 7, 2015, 11am-noon
Location: Center for Strategic and International Studies1616 Rhode Island Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036(map)

Please join us for a discussion featuring Thomas Zwiefelhofer, Deputy Prime Minister of Liechtenstein, and UNHCR Regional Representative for the USA and the Caribbean Shelly Pitterman as they assess Europe’s ongoing migration crisis and recent decisions taken by European leaders on border control and asylum policies. Although not a member of the European Union, the Principality of Liechtenstein is a member of the Schengen Agreement enabling border-free travel among 26 European countries, and a signatory to the Dublin Convention regulating Europe’s open border policies. The migration crisis is presenting enormous challenges to Schengen countries. As tens of thousands of migrants continue to arrive across Europe, individual states are taking disparate approaches. While some are increasing their refugee quotas, others are sealing their borders. Deputy Prime Minister Zwiefelhofer leads the ministries of Home Affairs, Justice and Economic Affairs. As Minister of Home Affairs he is in charge of border issues and will discuss how the greater European community can promote unity to address the crisis while minimizing internal clashes. The conversation will examine the future of the Schengen Agreement and the Dublin Convention and explore the role of international agencies such as the UNHCR and foreign countries in support of European partners during this crisis.

THURSDAY 10.8
Policy & Politics of the Iran Agreement
Georgetown University
Date & Time: Thursday, October 8, 2015, 4:30-6pm
Location: Georgetown University37 St NW and O St NW, Washington, DC (map)

Joseph Cirincione is president of Ploughshares Fund, a global security foundation. He is the author of the new book Nuclear Nightmares: Securing the World Before It Is Too Late, Bomb Scare: The History and Future of Nuclear Weapons and Deadly Arsenals: Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Threats. He is a member of Secretary of State John Kerry’s International Security Advisory Board and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Switzerland’s Good Offices: Protection of Interests in Cuba, Iran and Beyond
Women’s Foreign Policy Group
Time & Date: Thursday, October 8, 2015, 6pm
Location: Thursday, Oct 8, 2015
6:00 pm

H.E. Martin Dahinden assumed his position as Ambassador of Switzerland to the United States in November 2014. Prior to that, he served as Director of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (2008 – 2014) and headed the Directorate of Corporate Management of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (2004 – 2008).
During his long career in the Swiss diplomatic service, Dahinden has served as Director of the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining, as a member of the Swiss Delegation to GATT, at the Embassy of Switzerland in Paris, as Deputy to the Swiss Ambassador in Nigeria, and in a temporary posting at the Swiss Mission to the UN in New York. In addition, he worked in the FDFA’s Service for Disarmament Policy and Nuclear Issues, as Head of the OSCE Service of the Directorate of Political Affairs, and held the position of Deputy Head of the OSCE Coordination Unit during the Swiss Chairmanship of the OSCE in 1996. The following year, he was sent abroad as Deputy Head of the Swiss Mission to NATO in Brussels. Dahinden holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Zurich. Before joining the diplomatic service, he worked as a postgraduate assistant at the university, and was then employed by a bank and a publishing house.
WFPG Members — $40          Non-Members — $60   Space is limited. Advance registration is required. Some parking is available.
Event proceeds support WFPG mentoring activities and programs.

Migrant States, Mobile Economies: 
Rethinking the Political in Contemporary Turkey

Date & Time: Thursday, October 8, 2015, 3:30-8pm
Location: George Mason University, Merten Hall 1201

This event brings together scholars from anthropology and political science to interrogate the conceptual relationship between state formation and capital accumulation as related but distinct technologies of power in contemporary Turkey.  From gold traffic between Turkey and Iran and smuggling economies in Turkey’s Kurdistan to the historical development of energy infrastructures and im/mobilities across the Turkey-Syria border, the authors aim to chronicle the shifting and transnational operations of economic and political power. By exploring states of migrancy as well as economies of mobility in conjunction with state formation and capital accumulation, Migrant States & Mobile Economies aims to rethink the political in both political economy and political theory through the historiography and ethnography of contemporary Turkey.

 

FRIDAY 10.9
Producing More with Less Through Partnerships
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Date & Time: Friday, October 9, 2015, 9-11am
Location: Center for Strategic and International Studies1616 Rhode Island Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036(map)

Join the CSIS Global Food Security Project and the Royal Danish Embassy for a half-day event focused on how to produce more with less through partnerships for agricultural development. Harnessing the power of agriculture to feed a growing planet requires a multi-stakeholder approach that moves beyond typical public-private partnership rhetoric and has sustainable, deep relationships along entire supply chains. Solutions must include low-cost, innovative technologies that help farmers maximize production and minimize resources.

This event will provide an interactive forum in which leaders from business, non-governmental organizations, academia, and government agencies will come together to explore how to best tackle dwindling natural resources in a world of ever-increasing demand, and how to scale up partnerships to catalyze efficient production.

Pandora Report 10.2

by spopescu, posted in Uncategorized

All this rain and grey weather (at least in DC) makes us want to curl up with a good book and luckily, we’ve got just the reading list! This week we’re sharing some top-notch work by our phenomenal faculty and alumni for you to enjoy. Earlier this week, straight out of a James Bond movie, Elon Musk presented Tesla’s Model X and its Bioweapon Defense Mode. Google had its 2015 Science Fair and a pretty amazing high school student took home top honors for her work on Ebola. Did I mention Kansas is prepping for the zombie apocalypse? Needless to say, there was a lot going on this week in the world of biodefense, so let’s venture down the rabbit hole….

 Zombie Preparedness Month Starts for Kansas 
I’m thinking we may need to take a class trip to Kansas since Governor, Sam Brownback, will be signing a proclamation to officially designate October as “Zombie Preparedness Month”! Brownback’s rationale is to emphasize preparedness in any form, stating, “If you’re prepared for zombies, you’re prepared for anything. Although an actual zombie apocalypse will never happen, the preparation for such an event is the same as for any disaster: make a disaster kit, have a plan, and practice it.” During Zombie Preparedness Month, state emergency management services will have activities and information for residents to help get their preparedness on. They’ll also be using social media to engage people people on these topics. The one thing we’ve learned in biodefense, Gov. Brownback, is to never say never!

Connecticut Teen Wins Google Science Award By Developing Affordable Ebola Test
High school junior, Olivia Hallisey, just took home the Google Science Fair top prize for developing an affordable and easy Ebola test in her project, “Ebola Assay Card”, which quickly (we’re talking 30 minutes quick!) detects the virus and doesn’t require refrigeration. Each test only costs $25 and picks up antigens on photo paper. Hallisey summarizes, “In this new device, that is stable and stored at room temperature, 30µl drops of water were used to dissolve silk-embedded reagents, initiating a timed-flow towards a center detection zone, where a positive (colored) result confirmed the presence of 500pg/ml Ebola(+)control antigens in 30min, at a cost of $25,” Hallisey hopes this project will encourage other girls to pursue their passions in science. Hallisey is truly an inspiration and we tip our hats to her passion for solving world problems while encouraging her peers!

Let’s Talk Dual-Use!
Come listen and chat with Dr. David R. Franz, former commander of USAMRIID, about balancing research and regulations when it comes to dual-use!
Date & Time: Monday, October 5, 2015, 4:30-6pm
Location: Hanover Hall, L-003 George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, see map

​Dr. Franz was the Chief Inspector on three United Nations Special Commission biological warfare inspection missions to Iraq and served as technical advisor on long-term monitoring.  He also served as a member of the first two US-UK teams that visited Russia in support of the Trilateral Joint Statement on Biological Weapons and as a member of the Trilateral Experts’ Committee for biological weapons negotiations.  He previously served as member of the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB). Dr. Franz currently serves on several committees including the National Academy of Sciences Committee on International Security and Arms Control and the National Research Council Board on Life Sciences. Dr. Franz is a leader in the areas of cooperative threat reduction and health security and an expert in the development of U.S. regulations for biological threat reduction and biological security.  Dr. Franz will discuss the history and current debates related to U.S. and international regulations for select agents, dual use research of concern, and gain-of-function experiments.

1977 H1N1 Influenza Reemergence Reveals Gain-of-Function Hazards
Dr. Martin Furmanski discusses the gain-of-function (GoF) research hazards in relation to the 1977 H1N1 strain and it’s laboratory origins. Highlighting a previous article on the GoF debate, Dr. Furmanski notes that “separating the risks of vaccine development from those of basic GoF research is inappropriate, because GoF research seeks to discover antigenic and genomic changes that facilitate human-to-human transmission and/or augment virulence, with the aim of preemptively producing vaccines.” He also notes that while the 1977 H1N1 epidemic originated in a lab and it’s release was unintentional, the culprit laboratory matters little in the GoF debate.

Define Acceptable Cyberspace Behavior
GMU Biodefense alum, Dr. Daniel M. Gerstein, discusses the US-China cybersecurity agreement and the Friday announcement between Chinese Premier Xi Jinping and President Barack Obama. The agreement highlights the mutual desire to prevent cybertheft of business secrets. Dr. Gerstein emphasizes that while this agreement is a step in the right direction, it points to larger preparedness and response capability gaps. He notes, “So while a U.S.-China agreement is a welcome step, it also underscores the greater issues facing the United States, and indeed the international community, in this largely ungoverned space.” Dr. Gerstein highlights the necessity to define cyberspace boundaries, especially as there are delays in DHS security system deployments while US vulnerabilities continue to develop.

Implementation for the US Government Policy for Institutional Oversight of Life Sciences Dual Use Research of Concern
As of September 24, 2015, all institutions and USG funded agencies are now required to comply with the policies. Agencies now must have “a mechanisms in place to evaluate research that is potentially Dual Use Research of Concern (DURC).” Institutions must also organize an Institutional Review Entity (IRE) to review and manage compliance with these requirements.

 Just Another Reason to Read Barriers to Bioweapons: The Challenges of Expertise and Organization for Weapons Developmen Unknown
Dr. Sonia Ben Ouagrham-Gormley’s  new book, Barriers to Bioweapons, received glowing reviews in the latest issue of Perspective on Politics. Her work, which is a staple for biodefense courses, and particularly this text, focusses on the perception of risk and lethality of bioweapons while addressing the realities of these assumptions. Ouagrham-Gormley discusses the key role of tacit versus explicit knowledge in the development and dissemination barriers for bioweapons. “The author identifies important factors internal to a weapons-development program- talented individuals and cohesive groups, corporate culture, communities of practice, organization structure- as critical nodes or ‘reservoirs’ of knowledge that must be configured to optimize the sharing of ideas and information.” The case studies of Iraqi and South African programs, as well as Aum Shinrikyo, lay the foundation for her points on the role of internal and external variables that can hinder or help a bioweapons program. Whether you’re reading  it for class (GMU Biodefense folks, I’m looking at you!) or you’re looking to brush up on nonproliferation, this book is a well-written and captivating necessity to understand bioweapon development. Did I mention how awesome the cover is?
Al Qaeda : The Transformation of Terrorism in the Middle East and North Africa
Our very own GMU Biodefense PhD alum, Dr. Denise N. Baken, has a wonderful new book being released – let’s check it out! Al Qaeda : The Transformation of Terrorism in the Middle East and North Africa examines violence and the way it is marketed by the global terrorism industry.  Authors Denise Baken and Ioannis Mantzikos frame the violence discussion through the prism of its use by Al Qaeda, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).Baken and Mantzikos look at the business parameters of violence –its cost, return on investment, efficiency, and effectiveness; They propose a new approach to that violence. One that looks at violence as a controlled commodity that evolved from Al Qaeda’s initial presentation of future possibilities, AQAP exploited those possibilities and ISIS pushed the boundaries of usability.
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