R. Scott Kemp is an Associate Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering, and director of the MIT Laboratory for Nuclear Security and Policy.
Prof. Kemp's research combines physics, politics, and history to help create more resilient societies. His work has focused primarily on weapons of mass destruction and energy. Current research includes securing vulnerabilities in U.S. critical infrastructure (electricity, gas, and water systems) and strategic ramifications of hypersonics and 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. He serves on the advisory board for MIT's International Policy Lab, and on the President's Committee for Distinguished Fellowships.
Prof. Kemp 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.
Research Interests
- The Electrical Grid as a Weapon of Mass Destruction
- Technological Influences on Nuclear Strategic Stability
- Radiation Fingerprinting for Nuclear Archeology
- Detection of Clandestine Nuclear Facilities
- K-transform Tomography
Selected Publications
- R.S. Kemp, et al., "The Weapons Pontential of High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium," Science 384:6700, 6 June 2024.
- G.F. L'Her, R.S. Kemp, et al., "Potential for small and micro reactors to electrify developing regions," Nature Energy 67, 19 April 2023.
- R.S. Kemp, et al., "Physical Cryptographic Verification of Nuclear Warheads," Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences, July 2016.
- R.S. Kemp, "The Nonproliferation Emperor Has No Clothes: The Gas Centrifuge, Supply-Side Controls, and the Future of Nuclear Proliferation," International Security 38:4, Spring 2014.