Coming to Odd Fellows | The failed attempts to halt North Korea nuclear weapons program

What happens when diplomacy, nuclear science, and international security collide?

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Join nuclear safeguards and nonproliferation expert Mark Schanfein on Friday, November 7 at 7pm at Odd Fellows Hall for Assignment North Korea: The Failed Attempts to Halt Their Nuclear Weapons Program, an inside look at international efforts to address North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.

Schanfein brings a rare firsthand perspective to the subject. During his nearly five decades working in nuclear safeguards, weapons programs, and nonproliferation, he served as part of the on-the-ground technical team in North Korea during the Six-Party Talks negotiated under President George W. Bush. He was also sent to Russia following the collapse of the Soviet Union to assess the security of its nuclear material.

His career includes 20 years at Los Alamos National Laboratory, divided between the nuclear weapons and nuclear nonproliferation programs, as well as eight years with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna. At the IAEA, he spent four years as a safeguards inspector before becoming manager of the Unattended Monitoring Systems division, responsible for systems used to track nuclear material at nuclear fuel-cycle facilities around the world.

With more than 48 years of experience across six U.S. national laboratories, Schanfein offers a firsthand view of the technical and diplomatic challenges behind one of the world’s most persistent nuclear proliferation issues.

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