Senior Research Associate Jim Walsh discusses the aftermath of recent airstrikes between the U.S. and Iran with Robin Young, host of WBUR’s “Here & Now.” “Neither side can force the other to do its bidding. So, we’re caught in this sort of stalemate,” says Walsh. “How can you cut a deal with another leader, or another country if you don’t believe a word they say, and you think they’re going to turn around and do the opposite thing tomorrow?”
Associate Prof. Areg Danagoulian has developed a satellite equipped with specialized neutron detectors that he hopes will fill the gaps in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which bans nuclear weapons in space without a way to verify satellites are not carrying them. “[I]f the concept proves to be practical enough to someone in charge, it could finally give us a way to verify that there really aren’t any nukes floating precariously over our heads,” writes Luis Prada for Vice.
Financial Times reporter Michael Peel features CubeSat, a proposed satellite sensor by Associate Prof. Areg Danagoulian, able to identify hidden nuclear weapons in space. “If one state suspects another of placing a nuclear weapon in orbit, the absence of a verification mechanism makes the crisis harder to manage,” says Danagoulian. “If a bad-faith actor knows that their attempt will be discovered via inspection, they will be more likely to decide it's not worth pursuing.”
Gizmodo’s Ellyn Lapointe reports on a new paper from Associate Prof. Areg Danagoulian, which offers a solution to verifying satellites aren’t carrying hidden nuclear weapons in space: an inspector satellite able to indicate the presence of uranium from neutron signals via sensor technology. Danagoulian’s proposal seeks to fill the gaps of The Outer Space Treaty (OST), established in 1967 and signed by 118 countries to ban nuclear weapons in space, which “has always lacked robust means of verification for space-based nuclear threats,” says Danagoulian.
In a new study, Associate Prof. Areg Danagoulian proposes a satellite-based sensor that could monitor suspicious craft for signs of nuclear activity in space with 99% accuracy, reports Andrew Paul for Popular Science. “You can fake intelligence, but you can’t fake physics,” says Danagoulian. “The goal right now is to get national labs to use this work for their own research, and to get policymakers to seriously consider this technology as a potential part of national technical means.”
Scientific American’s Adam Kovac highlights a paper by Associate Prof. Areg Danagoulian that proposes a satellite to detect and police hidden nuclear weapons in space by detecting spallation, the ejection of neutrons, from the bombardment of high energy protons, and uranium atoms. “If you detect those neutrons, that itself can be a telltale sign that there is an unusual amount of uranium on the satellite, and it’s most likely to be a nuclear weapon,” Danagoulian says.
Senior Research Associate Jim Walsh speaks with WBUR Here & Now host Indira Lakshmanan about where things stand one month into the U.S. conflict with Iran.
Senior Research Associate Jim Walsh speaks with WBUR Here & Now host Indira Lakshmanan about the global impact of the United States’ conflict with Iran.
Writing for Foreign Affairs, Prof. Caitlin Talmadge explores the state of the Strait of Hormuz amid the United States’ conflict with Iran. “In short, if Iran effectively mines the strait, all U.S. response options are suboptimal,” writes Talmadge. “The United States should therefore focus aggressively on preventing Iranian mine-laying in the first place and finding an off-ramp from the larger war. If it does not, Washington should expect that ongoing harassment of traffic in the strait will be but one of a number of responses that Iran has long prepared and will now deploy.”
Postdoctoral Fellow Florian Galleri speaks with Associated Press reporter Sylvie Corbet about France’s move to align “its nuclear deterrent strategy more closely with European allies while keeping full control over any strike decision.” Galleri says “the strategic backing intended to integrate French nuclear deterrence into a collective European defense framework necessarily requires a degree of coordination and joint planning.”
Senior Research Associate Jim Walsh speaks with WBUR Here & Now host Indria Lakshmanan about the U.S. military action in Iran.
Prof. Jim Walsh speaks with WBUR’s Here & Now host Tiziana Dearing about increased military presence in the Middle East and methods to de-escalate tensions.
Prof. Jim Walsh speaks with Fox News reporter Jon Scott about international relations between the United States and countries in the Middle East.
Prof. Jim Walsh speaks with WBUR’s Here and Now host Scott Tong about U.S. global negotiations and relationships.
Prof. Barry Posen speaks with Newsweek reporter Andrew Stanton about the stockpile of United States weapons.