Greg Durham and Sarah Donahue

"Belfer in Brief"

A Glipse at a Variety of Belfer Center Activites

Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

Summer 2011

Getting to Zero

Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, senior fellow at the Belfer Center, took part in a panel on “Nuclear Dangers” at the Global Zero convention for students and young professionals in Washington, D.C. in April. Other panelists included Bruce Blair, Pervez Hoodbhoy, and Valerie Plame Wilson, who – along with Mowatt-Larssen and the Center’s Graham Allison and Matthew Bunn – were featured in the 2010 documentary Countdown to Zero about nuclear dangers. “The Global Zero student movement,” Mowatt-Larrsen said, “is about young people organizing themselves in a common cause to rid the world of nuclear weapons. They are determined to move beyond fear and tackle this menace head on.  What can be more inspirational than that?"

Exploring Muslim Views of America

“Islam and Muslim Societies: An Analytical Examination” was the focus of a conference in April organized by the Belfer Center’s Middle East Initiative. The conference focused on subjects like Muslim views of America and how they differ across the Arab world, connections between Islam and financial markets, and the relationship between Islam and political violence. Participants from institutions in the U.S. and Europe presented and discussed current research. The conference was organized by HKS professors Tarek Masoud and Asim Khwaja, and funded in part by the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs and Outreach Center at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies.

Nuclear Energy and the Climate Challenge

Laura Diaz Anadon, director of the Center’s Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group, and Matthew Bunn, associate professor of public policy, traveled to Venice in April for a workshop they organized with European colleagues on the role of R&D and policy in the contribution of nuclear power to meeting climate challenges. Presenters included senior leaders from industry, national labs, and academia from the United States and various EU countries.  The group also discussed the impact of the Japan accident and the benefits of international cooperation.

Belfer Center Breaks Records

The Belfer Center’s website broke two records for traffic in March. The site had 221,000 pageviews, only the second time the monthly number has exceeded 200,000. And the site drew 101,000 unique visitors for the month, the first time ever above 100,000. The website, managed by Sam Foreman, featured the Center’s expertise on the Middle East and on nuclear issues following the Fukushima crisis. The new Power & Policy blog also gave Belfer Center experts a new channel to reach readers quickly on the twin crises.

Staff on the Move

Congratulations to Belfer Center staffers who are completing advanced degrees and/or moving on to new adventures. Sarah Donahue, events administrator for the Center, is graduating in May from Boston College with a M.A. in Higher Education Administration. Greg Durham, project coordinator with the Agricultural Innovation in Africa Project, will graduate in May with an ALM in government from the Harvard Extension School, and will head to William and Mary Law in the fall to earn his J.D.  

For more information about this publication please contact the Belfer Center Communications Office at 617-495-9858.

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