Science, Technology and Global Security Working Group

Theodore Postol

James Goodby

Marvin Miller

Subrata Ghoshroy

Danielle Mancini

John Thomson

Theodore Postol, is professor of science, technology and national security policy at MIT.  He has a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from MIT and has worked as a research physicist at Argonne National Laboratory.  Prior to coming to MIT in 1989, he worked as an analyst at the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment and as a science and policy advisor to the Chief of Naval Operations.  He has received the American Physical Society’s Leo Szilard Award for “incisive technical analysis of national security issues that have been vital for informing the public policy debate” and the Hilliard Roderick Prize in Science, Arms Control, and International Security from the American Association for the Advancement of Science for “outstanding contributions that advance our understanding of issues related to arms control and international security.”  In 2001 he received the Norbert Wiener Prize from Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility for uncovering numerous and important false claims about missile defenses and in 2005 was awarded the Whistleblower Award by the Federation of German Scientists and the German Section of the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms.  His current research includes work on ballistic missile defense technologies, fraud in the U.S. missile defense program, and reducing nuclear dangers in South Asia as well as those due to the deteriorating Russian nuclear infrastructure.

Subrata Ghoshroy, research associate, joined the MIT group in 2005. He is leading the Promoting Nuclear Stability in South Asia Project.  In addition to directing the project, he will also be focusing on the impact of missile defenses and space weaponization on global security – where there is much common ground between India and Pakistan. Before joining MIT, Mr. Ghoshroy was a Senior Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. He has also been a Senior Defense Analyst at the Government Accountability Office for a number of years. Subrata also served as a Congressional Fellow under the AAAS program. Later, he served as a staff member of the House International Relations Committee and the House Armed Services Committee where he worked on issues of non-proliferation, arms control, South Asian security, ballistic missile defense, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, nuclear weapons stockpile stewardship, laser weapons, chemical weapons demilitarization, and landmines.  He was also responsible for monitoring and evaluating budget and policy matters related to Military Research and Development (RDT&E) using his expertise to carry out comprehensive evaluations of complex weapons systems that incorporate state-of-the-art technology.   Prior to his transition to the policy world, Subrata worked more than 20 years as an engineer and an engineering-manager in developing high-power and high-energy laser, electron beam, and pulse power technologies and has a highly successful track record in managing sophisticated, interdisciplinary teams to develop advanced technology for DOD, DOE, and NASA.  He holds master's degrees in both electrical engineering and public policy.

James Goodby, research affiliate, was President Clinton’s special Ambassador and Chief United States Negotiator for the Safe and Secure Dismantlement of Nuclear Weapons.  He negotiated arrangements with Russia so that the process of nuclear weapons dismantlement could be transparent and irreversible and also worked with countries of the former Soviet Union to enhance security and accounting for fissile material and nuclear warheads.  As head of the U.S. delegation to the Stockholm Conference on Confidence-and Security-Building Measures and Disarmament in Europe in 1984-85, he negotiated the framework that laid the basis for later negotiations on conventional force reductions in Europe.  His awards include the Presidential Distinguished Service Award, the State Department’s Superior and Distinguished Honor Awards, and the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit of Germany.  He is a Distinguished Fellow of the U.S. Institute of Peace, a winner of the Heinz Award in Public Policy and was the Frank E. and Arthur W. Payne Distinguished Lecturer at Stanford University. 

Danielle Mancini, program associate, came to MIT with a background in higher education administration and international education. Prior to arriving at MIT, Ms. Mancini was a senior program coordinator at Boston University's International Students and Scholars Office. Prior to that, she worked at the Harvard Business School. She took part in study abroad programs in Puerto Rico, Costa Rica and Spain while attending Central Connecticut State University and after graduating with a degree in Spanish, moved to Costa Rica where she taught English as a Foreign Language. Since relocating to Boston, she has volunteered with the refugee resettlement organization International Rescue Committee as an immigration aid, Centro Presente as an ESL teacher, and the Cambridge Community Learning Center as an adult literacy tutor.

Marvin Miller, research affiliate, received a Ph.D in Applied Physics from the Polytechnic Institute of New York in 1967, and was a tenured Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at Purdue University working on laser theory and applications before joining the MIT Nuclear Engineering Department (NED) in 1976.  He retired from the position of Senior Research Scientist in the NED in 1996, and became a Research Affiliate both with NED and the Security Studies Program (SSP) at the MIT Center for International Studies.  He is now a Research Affiliate with NED and the Science, Technology and Society (STS) Program at MIT where he continues his work on nuclear arms control and the linkage between nuclear power and nuclear proliferation as a member of the Science and Technology Working Group.  During his affiliation with MIT, Dr. Miller has been a consultant to the Oak Ridge, Los Alamos, and Argonne National Laboratories, the U.S. Departments of State and Energy, and the International Atomic Energy Agency, and is currently still active as a consultant to the Nonproliferation Bureau of the State Department.

Sir John Thomson, research affiliate, served as the United Kingdom Ambassador to India and as the Permanent Representative in the United Nations.  He has also been Head of Policy and Planning in the British Diplomatic Service, and a Minister at NATO. Sir John Thomson joined the British Foreign Service in 1950.  During that career, he served in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and London, becoming Private Secretary to the Permanent Under-Secretary in the Foreign Office.  Following four years of politico-military work in Washington, he became Head of Policy Planning in the Foreign Office, Chief of the Assessments Staff in the Cabinet Office, Minister at NATO and Under-Secretary for defense and disarmament in the Foreign Office.  While at NATO he also led the British delegation to the MBFR negotiations in Vienna. He retired on his 60th birthday in 1987.  Subsequently, he led a CSCE mission to Bosnia (1992) and participated in another to Albania (1994).