Principal Investigators
R. Scott Kemp is an Associate Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering, and director of the MIT Laboratory for Nuclear Security and Policy. His research combines physics, engineering, and the history of science to draw more clearly the limits and policy options for achieving international security under technical constraints. (more...)
Michael Short is an Associate Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering at MIT. He is a metallurgist with interests in measuring the fundamental mechanisms of radiation damage. His research with LNSP includes nuclear forensics and environmental detection of clandestine plants. (more...)
Areg Danagoulian is Associate Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering at MIT. He received his S.B. degree in physics from MIT and Ph.D. in Experimental Nuclear Physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research focuses on radiation measurements for nuclear security applications. (more...)
Research Staff
Richard C. Lanza is a Senior Research Scientist in the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering at MIT. His interests are primarily in the area of developing novel techniques and instrumentation for nuclear and radiation detection, including for the detection of special nuclear materials. (more...)
Lisbeth Gronlund is a Research Affiliate of LNSP. She holds a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Cornell University and has worked on technical and policy issues related to nuclear weapons, missile defenses, and space weapons for over three decades. (more...)
David Wright is a Research Affiliate of LNSP. He received his Ph.D. in physics from Cornell University. He has worked on arms control and international security issues since 1988, researching technical aspects of nuclear weapons policy, missile defense systems, missile proliferation, hypersonic weapons, and space weapons. (more...)
Jake Hecla is a Stanton Postdoctoral Fellow in the MIT Laboratory for Nuclear Security and Policy. His research interests focus on emerging technologies, including nuclear thermal propulsion, micro-reactors, and advanced radiation detection techniques. Hecla holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in nuclear engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and an S.B. in nuclear science and engineering from MIT. (more…)
Lucas Arthur is a Technical Associate in the MIT Laboratory for Nuclear Security and Policy. He received his S.B. degree in physics with a minor in political science from MIT in 2021. Lucas works on arms control, ballistic missile guidance, conventional counterforce, and advanced sensing. (more…)
Natalie Montoya is a Technical Associate in the MIT Laboratory for Nuclear Security and Policy. She received her S.B. degree in Nuclear Engineering from MIT in 2021. Natalie works on nuclear-war planning, strategic strike options, and conventional counterforce. (more…)
Graduate Students
Eli Sanchez is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering. He received his bachelor's degree in chemistry with a minor in physics from the University of Texas at Dallas. He currently studies the flight capabilities of hypersonic missiles. (more...)
Non-Resident Affiliates
Jenifer Shafer is Associate Professor of Chemistry at the Colorado School of Mines. She works on f-elements relevant to solid-liquid and liquid-liquid separations chemistry. She collaborates with LNSP on radiochemistry topics, and in particular, on the detection of ultra-trace effluents from clandestine nuclear facilities. (more…)
Rachel Carr is a Pappalardo Fellow at the MIT Department of Physics. Her background is in experimental particle physics. Rachel was previously an AIP-ASA Congressional Science Fellow in the U.S. Senate And a Stanton Fellow at LNSP. She received a PhD in Physics from Columbia University and a BA in Physics and Philosophy from the University of Virginia.