This site is archived.
Click here to visit the new FissileMaterialsWorkingGroup.org »
Next Generation Nuclear Security Summit - April 12-13, 2010
View Event Presentations »
View Event Video »

fissile materials working group

The Fissile Materials Working Group (FMWG), a nongovernmental coalition of over 40 U.S. experts representing many of the top nonproliferation and nuclear security organizations in the country and also includes several international partner organizations.  Members of the FMWG collaborate in a series of meetings designed to create consensus behind top fissile materials priorities, develop actionable policy proposals, and package recommendations for implementation by U.S. and foreign government officials.

The FMWG has been a forceful presence in support of improved fissile material security and the prevention of nuclear terrorism.  Important milestones for the FMWG include the publication of its consensus recommendations to the Obama Administration for improving nuclear material security (September 2009); the convening of a summit of international experts and supporting events in support of the official Nuclear Security Summit (April 2010); and a series of regional meetings to explore international perspectives on nuclear security (October 2010 - April 2011).  These activities highlight the urgency of this agenda and engage a broad array of international stakeholders.  Please click here for a summary of the FMWG's acitivites to date.  To view the FMWG's condensed work plan, please click here.

Media Contact:
Sean Harder
sharder@stanleyfoundation.org
319-455-6397


The Steering Committee is comprised of the following professionals:

  • Kenneth N. Luongo, President, Partnership for Global Security (co-chair)
  • Alexandra Toma, Executive Director, Connect U.S. Fund (co-chair)
  • Matthew Bunn, Associate Professor of Public Policy; Co-Principal Investigator, Project on Managing the Atom; Co-Principal Investigator, Energy Research, Development, Demonstration, and Deployment (ERD3) Policy Project, Harvard University
  • Togzhan Kassenova, Associate, Nuclear Policy Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
  • Miles Pomper, Senior Research Associate, James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies
  • Jennifer Smyser, Program Officer, Policy and Outreach, The Stanley Foundation
  • Sharon Squassoni, Director and Senior Fellow, Proliferation Prevention Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies
  • Benn Tannenbaum, Non-Resident Fellow, Center for Science, Technology, and Security Policy, American Association for the Advancement of Science
  • Paul Walker, Director, Security & Sustainability, Global Green USA
     

Key Staff:

Ryan Costello
FMWG Coordinator
202-721-5600 x. 5724
 

Michelle Marchesano
mmarchesano@partnershipforglobalsecurity.org
202-332-1412

Experts Praise Nuclear Security Summit, Call for Follow-through and Accountability
Apr13
Posted by Veronica Tessler
Release Date: 
04-13-2010

Nuclear security experts called the Nuclear Security Summit convened by President Obama a major step toward overcoming the barriers to locking down vulnerable nuclear materials to keep them out of the hands of terrorists, but they warned that the real measure of progress will be accountability in implementing the measures discussed at the summit.

Nuclear security experts called the Nuclear Security Summit convened by President Obama a major step toward overcoming the barriers to locking down vulnerable nuclear materials to keep them out of the hands of terrorists, but they warned that the real measure of progress will be accountability in implementing the measures discussed at the summit.

“The President has put his personal prestige on the line like no other world leader has before,” said Kenneth Luongo, President and Founder of Partnership for Global Security and Co-Chair of the Fissile Materials Working Group. “Taken together the individual commitments of participating
nations themselves will materially advance the nuclear security agenda. But, when the lights go
down tonight, leaders need to hit the ground running on implementation.”

“The summit represents a major step in making nuclear security an international priority and
increasing the level of commitment to dealing with it, but the administration and partner
governments need to turn this momentum into real action in the months and years ahead,” said
Matthew Bunn, Associate Professor at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of
Government and Co-Principal Investigator for The Project on Managing the Atom.

"The summit should be the beginning, not the end of global efforts to improve nuclear security,"
said Miles Pomper, Senior Research Association, The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation
Studies. “For example, we need to do more to work toward phasing out highly enriched
uranium.”

Luongo, Bunn, and Pomper are members of the Fissile Materials Working Group (FMWG), a
coalition of more than 40 leading experts and NGOs in nuclear security that hosted a parallel
summit on Tuesday for experts and NGOs from 37 nations.

Contact Information: 

Sean Harder, call 319-455-6397 or sharder@stanleyfoundation.org

PreviewAttachmentSize
FMWGPostSummitRelease.pdf59.68 KB