Aubrey Means, national security specialist, and Kate Doty, advisor for treaties and agreements at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), recently visited the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) to deliver lectures on international law, arms control, and nuclear nonproliferation to students during UTSA’s Nuclear Policy Week. 

PNNL partners with UTSA as part of the Consortium on Nuclear Security Technologies (CONNECT), which falls under the National Nuclear Security Administration Minority Serving Institution Partnership Program (NNSA MSIPP). PNNL leads one of three “thrust areas” under CONNECT focused on policy and designed to introduce STEM and humanities students to the policy issues involved in nuclear sciences.

 In addition to a lecture series for UTSA students throughout the school year, Policy Week is an opportunity for staff at PNNL to visit the campus and engage with students directly.

“Nuclear Policy Week gives students an opportunity to step away from the lab spaces and learn more about the policies that are really important to things like nuclear arms control and international law,” said Means. 

Along with lectures, Means and Doty put together a simulated treaty negotiation scenario that became the highlight of the week for many. Students were divided into teams and presented with a fictional trilateral arms control scenario where they needed to use their newly gained knowledge to develop a treaty on which all parties agreed. 

“It was such fun to see students striving to negotiate their own arms control solution, and to listen to them grapple with other hard problems such as utilizing nuclear energy to meet NetZero goals, adopting policies to manage nuclear waste, and considering expanded uses for nuclear energy,” said Doty.

This exercise highlighted how both technical and policy expertise are crucial for success in the nuclear mission space. Means and Doty wanted students to appreciate how they might contribute to this mission in their future careers, regardless of their backgrounds.

“Helping students understand the interdisciplinary nature of nuclear work is a key goal of our participation in the CONNECT Consortium. We hope to help give all students a baseline of knowledge of relevant international law and policy so that they can be more effective in their studies and future careers,” said Doty. 

Along with Means and Doty, Jonathan Forman and Tracy Lyon, both in the National Security Directorate at PNNL, joined virtually for a career panel and shared helpful advice with students. Engagement with UTSA will continue with a PNNL-led lecture series during the upcoming school year. 

“We are passionate about providing opportunities to those students that might not have the chance to learn about the nuclear space without programs like this. Our hope is to see a more diverse group of nuclear leaders in the field, representing many populations and technical backgrounds,” said Means. 

“It’s not just about educating the next generation on the different nuances of this field, but also bringing in underrepresented voices to the conversation,” said Means.