PNNL

Chemical weapons are internationally banned under the Chemical Weapons Convention, a multilateral agreement that places legally binding obligations of an unlimited duration on the nations of the world and relies on scientific and technological knowledge and capabilities to be effective. Modalities for the implementation of an international nonproliferation regime are influenced and informed by technological and sociopolitical understandings at the time of treaty negotiation, while science and technology continually move forward, changing how we think about and apply scientific knowledge, adopt new technologies, and view the potential for technologically enabled challenges to WMD security.

This presentation will look at these issues and draw upon the speaker’s experiences as a scientific advisor to an international treaty organization to provide a glimpse into the intersection of science and diplomacy, as well as describe how subject matter experts from PNNL also provide scientific advice to support decision making in both national and international forums.