September 15, 2009 CSTP/ISI Joint Seminar with Shari Villarosa "The Obama Administration’s View of Counterterrorism"

In this informal seminar Ms. Shari Villarosa will discuss the Obama administration’s approach to counterterrorism. Shari Villarosa is a career senior State Department Foreign Service Officer who has served in her present position since September 2008. She was U.S. Chief of Mission, Rangoon, from August 2005-8. Prior to that she served as Director of Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore Affairs; Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta and Charge d’Affaires of the new Embassy in Dili, East Timor among other Foreign Service assignments. She has been the Diplomat in Residence at the East-West Center in Hawaii, is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in international studies and holds a law degree from William and Mary.

May 6, 2009 UNM CNNST and CSTP Joint Seminar with Dr. Chaim Braun "Nuclear Power Programs in Arabian Peninsula – Possible Proliferation Concerns?"

The UNM Center for Nuclear Nonproliferation Science and Technology and the UNM Center for Science, Technology and Policy will present a joint seminar on “Nuclear Power Programs in Arabian Peninsula – Possible Proliferation Concerns?” with Dr. Chaim Braun on Wednesday, 06 May 2009, 1:30 pm, UNM Farris Engineering Building, Room 145.

Dr. Braun will discuss the prospects for nuclear power growth in the Arabian Peninsula, focusing on the countries of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), particularly Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Yemen. The presentation will trace their increased, recent interest in nuclear power and discuss the different evolution paths of their individual nuclear programs. Dr. Braun will comment on the prospects of success or failure of the various national nuclear energy programs, on the related fuel cycle programs, and on the external technology suppliers.

Dr. Braun will also review the various pathways nuclear energy programs might pose proliferation risks in general, and particularly as related to the Arabian Peninsula countries. The long-term nature of the proliferating process from a network of nuclear power plants will be stressed, along with the importance of the existence, or avoidance, of related fuel cycle facilities. Dr. Braun will briefly discuss the importance of controlling against the emerging parallel clandestine fuel cycle facilities, constructed as secret offshoots of the commercial power program; the various regional fuel cycle cooperation proposals and their nonproliferation advantages or disadvantages; the possibility of nuclear breakout among the regional countries, especially if their nuclear power programs eventually include fuel cycle facilities; and the unique regional prospect for a joint latent weapons development program involving more than one country, and the longer-term possibility of a joint breakout from the NPT regime.

February 11, 2009 CSTP / NM Nuclear Study Group Seminar with Stephen M. Younger, "The Bomb: A New History"

In this informal seminar, Dr. Stephen Younger will provide a comprehensive look at the history, current status, and future of nuclear weapons. How did these unique weapons come about and how did policies such as Mutually Assured Destruction arise? What are the effects of nuclear weapons? Most important, do we need them in the future and, if so, how many and what types?

Dr. Younger is the president of National Security Technologies, LLC, the manager and operator of the Nevada Test Site and satellite research facilities in California, New Mexico, Nevada and Washington, D.C.

Feburary 2009 CSTP co-sponspored UNM Africana Studies Black History Month 2009

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