Friday, March 25, 2022 - 3:10 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Zoom
Title: The Growing Danger of Nuclear Weapons (and how physicists can help reduce it)
There will be an optional discussion of opportunities for involvement and advocacy following the colloquium
Abstract: Today’s nuclear arsenals pose enormous risks for all humanity. Moreover, many treaties that reduced the threat of nuclear weapons have now been abandoned, and some are advocating that enormous additional resources be spent on acquiring new nuclear weapons. We face a renewed nuclear arms race with potentially catastrophic consequences. Historically, physicists have played a critical role in helping the public and decision makers understand the threat posed by nuclear weapons and what can be done to reduce the threat. I will explain the growing nuclear crisis and describe a new project sponsored by the American Physical Society to support and mobilize physicists to reduce the nuclear threat.
Bio: Fred Lamb is the Brand and Monica Fortner Chair of Theoretical Astrophysics Emeritus and a core faculty member in the Arms Control and Domestic & International Security Program at the University of Illinois. As an expert on space policy, ballistic missiles and missile defenses, and the technical aspects of nuclear test bans, he has been a consultant to the Defense Department, national laboratories, and Congressional committees. He co-chaired the American Physical Society’s 2003 Study of Boost-Phase Missile Defense and is chair of the current APS POPA Study of Missile Defense and National Security. The focus of his scientific research is high-energy and relativistic astrophysics and dense matter. He is a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Fellow of the APS and shared the Leo Szilard Award of the APS for his leadership of the 2003 APS study of boost-phase missile defense. For more information, see: https://physics.illinois.edu/people/directory/profile/fkl
Please contact Michelle.Mancini@unh.edu for zoom link.
