Six Nuclear Security Programs Win Major Grants from Carnegie Corporation of New York

NEW YORK—Carnegie Corporation of New York is awarding grants of up to $500,000 each to six nuclear security programs that developed forward-thinking approaches to studying how breakthrough technologies are increasing nuclear instability worldwide. 

 

The philanthropic foundation, established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 with a mission that emphasizes international peace and security, issued a request for proposals earlier this year. The goal is to examine how new technologies in areas such as cyberspace and hypersonic flight may be accentuating nuclear risks.

 

Nearly 50 teams representing university research centers and think tanks in the United States and Europe submitted proposals, and a jury of experts selected the following winners and their research topics:

 

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace - Escalation through Entanglement: How Developments in Non-nuclear Technology Could Lower the Nuclear Threshold

 

Center for a New American Security (CNAS) and Harvard University Project - Pathways Disruptive Technologies and the Future of Strategic Stability between the United States and Russia

 

Georgetown University - Disruptive Technologies, Strategic Vulnerability, and the Future of Deterrence

 

Georgia Institute of Technology - The Dynamics of Command, Control and Coordination in Cyber-Conflict Escalation: A Scenario-based Examination

 

King’s College London - Understanding How Missile Defense Will Affect Nuclear Deterrence and Stability in the New Strategic Environment

 

The RAND Corporation - Hypersonic Missile Nonproliferation: Hindering the Spread of Hypersonic Glide Vehicles and Hypersonic Cruise Missiles

 

“Today we are seeing the development and spread of a suite of technologies that, taken together, accentuate the risk of nuclear accident or miscalculation,” said Carl Robichaud, the program officer who oversees the initiative. “No one knows which capabilities will emerge as risk multipliers, but given the pace of technological innovation, we must anticipate potential problems before they become crises.”

 

Robichaud said that for this program, Carnegie Corporation sought interdisciplinary teams that combine technical and foreign policy expertise and integrate mid-career and senior experts. Special emphasis was placed on proposals that offer international perspectives, ideological diversity, and a strong dissemination plan that can deliver the findings to policy audiences and beyond.

 

Robichaud adds, “This research will be especially valuable because it is based on unclassified, open-source data, and the results can be shared with, debated, and challenged by anyone, not just those who hold security clearances. These projects create a platform for conversations between expert communities from different disciplines and different countries that don’t often talk—but should.”

 

The grants are for two years with expectations that the findings will engage policy makers, military planners, academia, and the informed public around these emerging nuclear deterrence issues for years to come.