June 5, 2023
Last month, CNS bid farewell to the latest group of visiting fellows following the successful completion of their intensive, 15-week nonproliferation training program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS) at Monterey. This spring’s cohort included a nuclear physicist from Nigeria, the current chairperson of the African Commission on Nuclear Energy (AFCONE), a CBRN security expert from Kenya, an assistant director in the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation, and a foreign service officer from the Bahamas who also participated in CNS’s 2022 Nonproliferation and Disarmament Summer School for Latin American and Caribbean Diplomats.
Spring 2023 fellows with program director Jean du Preez.
The visiting fellows were immersed in a semester-long program that synthesized notable nonproliferation courses offered at MIIS, attended dozens of personal lectures by CNS experts and affiliates from Monterey, Washington, DC, and Vienna, and undertook independent research projects to focus their studies on during their time in Monterey.
The fellows also had the opportunity to spend a week in the nation’s capital, where they met with a range of governmental and non-governmental arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament experts, including Daryl Kimball, Executive Director of the Arms Control Association, Ambassador Adam Scheinman, Special Representative to the President on Nuclear Nonproliferation, and Rachel Thomas, Deputy Chief of Staff to Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Bonnie Jenkins.
Seeing first-hand how the U.S. State Department carries out U.S. nonproliferation policy.
Each fellow has the benefit of working alongside one of CNS’s senior experts to help guide their independent research project. At the end of the program, each of the fellows got to return the favor and present their important research findings to staff, faculty, and students at CNS and MIIS.
CNS Director Dr. Bill Potter congratulating the fellows following their presentations.
Of course, the fellows did not spend all their time researching and studying. They also took advantage of the beautiful Monterey Bay, which we here at the CNS Monterey office call home! Whether it was exploring historic Monterey and Cannery Row, soaking up some sun and fun on the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, or even heading north to sightsee in San Francisco, they took full advantage of the beauty of California!
The fellows never missed an opportunity to have some fun!
Spring 2023 Visiting Fellows Research Presentations
- Dr. Yamusa Abdullahi (Nigeria), Senior Research Fellow and nuclear reactor operator, Centre for Energy Research and Training, Ahmadu Bello University; Presentation: Promoting peaceful uses of nuclear technology: Role of research reactors and the future of small modular reactors procurement – the Nigerian case
- Mr. Gaspard Liyoko Mboyo (Republic of Congo), President of the Nuclear Regulatory Cell, AFCONE Chair; Presentation: Nuclear security implications of small modular reactors in Africa: Challenges and implications for AFCONE
- Ms. Altrine Obiero (Kenya), Office of the President: Interior Security; Presentation: Strengthening strategic goods trade controls to enhance WMD nonproliferation in Kenya and the wider East African community
- Ms. Masenoametsi Letlala (South Africa), Assistant Director, Department of International Relations and Cooperation; Presentation: South Africa’s impact on the nuclear nonproliferation regime
- Ms. Rolanda Davis (The Bahamas), Foreign Service Officer, America’s Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Presentation: Gender and power in arms control and nonproliferation
Copies of the presentations may be available upon request.
The Spring 2023 CNS Visiting Fellows program was supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the MacArthur Foundation and the United States Department of State
