Professor R. Scott Kemp

R. Scott Kemp is an Associate Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering, and director of the MIT Laboratory for Nuclear Security and Policy.

Scott's research combines physics, politics, and history to help create more resilient societies. His work has focused primarily on problems arising from weapons of mass destruction and energy. Current research includes securing vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure (electricity, gas, and water systems) and strategic ramifications of advanced conventional weapons. He teaches primarily in the area of energy policy and is an academic advisor for students in the MIT Energy Studies Program.

In 2010, Scott served as Science Advisor in the U.S. State Department's Office of the Special Advisor for Nonproliferation and Arms Control where he was responsible for developing the technical framework for what became the Iran Nuclear Deal.

Scott received his undergraduate degree in physics from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his Ph.D. in Public and International Affairs from Princeton University. He is a Fellow of American Physical Society, recipient of the Sloan Research Fellowship in Physics, and the School of Engineering's Spira Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Recent Research Projects

  • The Electrical Grid as a Weapon of Mass Destruction
  • Hypersonic Weapons
  • Detection and Prevention of Foreign Bioweapons Programs
  • Radiation Fingerprinting for Nuclear Archeology
  • Detection of Clandestine Nuclear Facilities
  • Strategic Stability and Space-Based Radar
  • K-transform Tomography
  • Physical Cryptographic Warhead Verification for Nuclear Disarmament