As nuclear agreements end and talk of nuclear weapons testing builds, the U.S. is entering a new era of nuclear policy, says Sébastien Philippe.
“There won’t be agreements stopping countries from a nuclear arms race,” he says. “We often think nuclear weapons policies are the realms of experts and the military, but in fact, everybody should be part of this conversation, because it affects us all.”
Philippe is a scientist and engineer who studies nuclear weapons policy issues at the UW. He served as a nuclear weapons safety engineer with the French government and earned a doctorate at Princeton. He worked in the School of Public Policy there for seven years, before coming to the UW this August to build a lab and research group focused on nuclear security and arms control.
Philippe is also involved at the United Nations and was recently appointed to a newly created UN panel studying the effects of nuclear war.
On November 18, 2025, Philippe will join the UW Now Live for a discussion about the U.S., China, and nuclear diplomacy. Philippe’s expertise in nuclear weapons policies and technologies will help frame the conversation and provide insight about the looming era of nuclear weapons.
My Chief Area of Research Is:
My research focuses on nuclear nonproliferation and nuclear arms control and disarmament issues. This includes developing technologies to verify international agreements and modeling the consequences of nuclear war to promote evidence-based nuclear weapons policy.
On the UW Now Live, I’ll Talk About:
I’ll cover what the president has said about restarting nuclear testing in the U.S. and unpack what it means to test nuclear weapons, including the implications of nuclear testing. I’ll also discuss the legacy of past nuclear testing in the United States, which is not fully addressed still today.
If There’s One Thing Viewers Should Takeaway, It’s:
Restarting nuclear testing in the United States would put national security policy at stake, and it would put the U.S. public environment at risk.
To Get Smart Fast, See:
For news and commentary on nuclear weapon issues, see the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and the New York Timesopinion series At the Brink.
To learn about policy, see the Arms Control Association.
For information about Philippe’s work in nuclear security, see the MacArthur Foundation.
