Matthew Bunn (born 1961) is an American nuclear and energy policy analyst, currently a

professor of practice Professors in the United States commonly occupy any of several positions of teaching and research within a college or university. In the U.S., the word "professor" informally refers collectively to the academic ranks of assistant professor, asso ...

at the

Harvard Kennedy School The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. He is the Co-principal Investigator for the Belfer Center's Project on Managing the Atom.

Professional activities

Before coming to Harvard, Bunn served as an adviser to the White House

Office of Science and Technology Policy An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific dut ...

from 1994-1996. Bunn directed the secret 1995 study on nuclear security from the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). This study served as the basis for Presidential Decision Directive 41 (1995) which established U.S. government policies for securing nuclear materials. From 1992-1996, Bunn held a position as a study director at the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

. During this time, he directed Management and Disposition of Excess Weapons Plutonium and this study became the foundation for U.S. government policy on plutonium disposition. (The creation of what is now the Office of Materials Disposition was announced the day after the report was released.) Bunn initially suggested and helped coordinate the

Nuclear Threat Initiative The Nuclear Threat Initiative, generally referred to as NTI, is a non-profit organization located in Washington, D.C. The American foreign policy think tank was founded in 2001 by former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn and describes itself as a "nonprofit ...

’s $1.2 million gift to the

International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...

's nuclear security programs, which became the founding gift of the Nuclear Security Fund. He developed the concepts of “cold standby” and “warm standby” for Iran’s centrifuges when various forms of “suspension” of Iran’s program were being discussed and co-authored compromise proposals for resolving the dispute over Iran’s program with former Iranian deputy foreign minister Abbas Maleki. Bunn and his colleague Anthony Wier were the first to suggest a four-year effort to secure nuclear material worldwide, a goal that was ultimately agreed to at the

2010 Nuclear Security Summit The 2010 Nuclear Security Summit was a Summit (meeting), summit held in Washington, D.C., on April 12 and 13, 2010. The Summit focused on how to better safeguard weapons-grade plutonium and uranium to prevent nuclear terrorism. Overview The New S ...

. Bunn, Wier, and

John Holdren John Paul Holdren (born in Sewickley, Pennsylvania, March 1, 1944) is an American scientist who served as the senior advisor to President Barack Obama on science and technology issues through his roles as Assistant to the President for Science and ...

, formerly President Obama’s science advisor, first proposed combining U.S. efforts to convert research reactors and remove HEU into a single program, which became the Global Threat Reduction Initiative. Bunn was also an editor of ''Arms Control Today'' from 1990-1992.

Education

Bunn received his Ph.D. in Technology, Management, and Policy from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

in 2007.

Honors

*Bunn is an elected Fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

*He was the 2007 recipient of the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...

's Joseph A. Burton Forum Award for "outstanding contributions in helping to formulate policies to decrease the risks of theft of nuclear weapons and nuclear materials". *Bunn was also the 2007 recipient of the Hans A. Bethe Award from the

Federation of American Scientists The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) is an American nonprofit global policy think tank with the stated intent of using science and scientific analysis to attempt to make the world more secure. FAS was founded in 1946 by scientists who wo ...

for "science in service to a more secure world."

Selected publications

* Matthew Bunn, Martin B. Malin, William C. Potter, and Leonard S. Spector, eds.,
Preventing Black-Market Trade in Nuclear Technology
' (Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2018). *Matthew Bunn and Scott D. Sagan, eds.
Insider Threats
'. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, January 2017. *Matthew Bunn, William H. Tobey, Martin B. Malin, and Nickolas Roth. �
Preventing Nuclear Terrorism: Continuous Improvement or Dangerous Decline?
” Managing the Atom Project, Belfer Center, March 21, 2016. *Laura Diaz Anadon, Matthew Bunn, and Venkatesh Narayanamurti, eds.
Transforming U.S. Energy Innovation
' (Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2014). *Matthew Bunn and Eben Harrell.

' (Cambridge, Mass.: Project on Managing the Atom, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School, March 2014).

References

External links

Matthew Bunn's officia
web page
Matthew Bunn'
speech on receiving the Hans A. Bethe Award
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bunn, Matthew Living people 1961 births