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Charli Carpenter, professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and director of the Human Security Lab, is available to discuss a recent survey she led of U.S. military members and veterans that found a real-time drop in their trust in the president’s nuclear launch authority that occurred during the recent Iran crisis. Carpenter and colleagues Grace Bernheart, Joseph Mara and Zahra Marashi recently published an article on the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists explaining what their findings mean and why they are important, and Carpenter also appeared on the podcast The Fire This Time to discuss the survey. To speak with Carpenter about the survey, contact her via her ExpertFile profile here.
What's Happening with the Iran Conflict?
Since 1997, Iran has vowed "death to America." It hasn't always been that way though, but over the course of seven decades the relationship has changed from being close allies to enemies. America isn't the only country having conflict with Iran. For over 45 years, Israel has been fighting with Iran. There are currently 10 countries that have conflict with Iran. Tensions between Israel and Iran rose higher in April 2024, when Iran launched its first-ever drone and missile attack on Israel. This conflict extended into June 2024, then grew quiet while remaining unstable. On June 13, 2025, Israel launched surprise attacks on Iran due to Iran's imminent threat of constructing nuclear bombs. America, known for being philosemitic, launched its own attack on Iran which President Trump said "obliterated" their nuclear plants. White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt reminded Americans that America has "the best and most lethal fighting force in the world." While updates are continually being given on the war. President Trump is working on negotiating a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. Dr. Glen Duerr, professor of international studies at Cedarville University and a citizen of the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States, is a nationally known expert on this subject and is available to speak to on the conflict going on in Iran and the implications it has for America. To schedule an interview, email Mark D. Weinstein, executive director of public relations at Cedarville University at mweinstein@cedarville.edu or click on his icon.
Neutrons by the trillions: Using computational physics to understand nuclear reactors
Zeyun Wu, Ph.D., associate professor in the mechanical and nuclear engineering department at VCU Engineering, is reshaping the future of nuclear power. Nuclear reactors are among the most complex engineered systems on earth, with different physical processes interacting simultaneously across various scales. Even the world's most powerful computers cannot simulate every detail of an operating reactor at once. With a background in computational reactor physics, Wu’s research develops modeling and simulation techniques crucial to understanding next-generation nuclear reactors. By creating these advanced tools, his research eliminates the need for costly physical experimentation while ensuring the safety, efficiency and environmental sustainability of future nuclear power plants. Wu's research focuses on understanding reactor behavior through two aspects: multi-physics and multi-scale modeling. The multi-physics approach integrates various physical phenomena, such as nuclear physics reactions, fluid dynamics, heat transfer and structural mechanics, into a unified simulation framework. The multi-scale modeling technique addresses the vast range of physical scales involved, from subatomic neutron interactions to meter-sized reactor components. Wu’s research can simulate the complex phenomena within reactors at different scales. These models, developed using advanced numerical methods, help predict reactor behavior under various conditions. One of the models Wu uses tracks neutron behavior, a fundamental aspect to understand nuclear reactions. His simulations track trillions of neutrons as they move through various reactor materials, cause fission events and generate power. "What drives power is actually the neutron," explained Wu. "Once an atom splits, along with the nuclear energy release, lots of neutrons come out. We're talking about 1012 to 1013 neutrons per second. Our code tracks each neutron to understand where it comes from and where it goes." By understanding neutron distribution across space, time and energy domains, Wu's team can predict power distribution throughout the reactor core. This helps identify potential hotspots – areas of heightened thermal activity that could pose safety challenges. Beyond neutron behavior, Wu's research also explores how cooling fluids interact with neutrons and carry away thermal energy, a field known as thermal hydraulics, because how the reactor components are cooled significantly affects the neutron behavior as well. This also explains why the multi-physics modeling becomes essential for nuclear reactor simulations. Wu founded the Computational Applied Reactor Physics Laboratory (CARPL) to continue his research in nuclear reactor modeling and simulation. Undergraduate and master’s students learn to use established nuclear simulation codes to analyze reactor problems – skills highly valued in the industry and national labs. Ph.D. students build on theoretical foundations to deepen their understanding, enhance existing models, and develop new ones. “My area of research has been continually evolving for the past 60 years or so,” said Wu. “Most of the codes we use have been developed by national labs, like Oak Ridge National Lab, but these codes aren’t perfect. National labs hire Ph.D. level students with this niche to identify deficits in the code, correct errors and even add new functions and improve them.” Looking forward, Wu hopes his research will have a real-world impact on the upcoming shift in nuclear power in America. Over the next 20 to 30 years, the nation's approximately 90 light-water-cooled nuclear reactors reach the end of their operational lifetimes. Light water refers to ordinary water (H₂O), used in most existing reactors to both cool the system and slow down neutrons to sustain the nuclear reaction. To replace them, experts are looking toward advanced, non-light-water-cooled reactors, such as the Molten Uranium Breeder Reactor (MUBR) shown in the figure. Computational methods and tools like Wu’s research lab developed will be essential to their development and implementation. Non-light-water cooled reactors offer significant advantages over the older designs. Some can operate at higher temperatures while others produce substantially less nuclear waste, addressing one of the industry's persistent challenges. "Unlike traditional water reactors, where we have decades of operational experience and established analysis tools, these new designs present unique challenges," explained Wu. "Companies like Dominion employ large teams of analysts who use well-tested computational tools to maintain their existing reactors, but those same tools aren't calibrated for these next-generation reactors. Our research is developing the computational methods and simulations these advanced reactors will need. When these new reactors come online, the methodologies we're creating now can be quickly converted into production-level nuclear codes, providing immediate practical value to industry.”
Israel carried out strikes against Iran on Friday, targeting its nuclear and military sites, after US President Donald Trump warned of a possible "massive conflict" in the region. Israel's operation struck at the "heart of Iran's nuclear enrichment programme", taking aim at the atomic facility in Natanz and nuclear scientists, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. The operation against Iran will "continue as many days as it takes," Netanyahu said. June 12 - AFP Connect with our experts about the latest escalation between Israel and Iran: Check out our experts here : www.expertfile.com
A path to fair minerals trade: Researcher champions global trust model
As the world races to build cleaner energy systems and powerful AI technologies, the demand for critical minerals—like lithium, cobalt, and rare earths—is soaring. But with this demand comes rising global tension over who controls these resources. University of Delaware Professor Saleem Ali, an international expert in environmental policy and chair of UD's Department of Geography and Spatial Sciences, is suggesting a new way forward. In a new article published in Science, along with a United Nations policy brief, Ali and his coauthors propose the creation of a Global Minerals Trust. The article notes how the international plan would help countries work together to manage and share critical minerals fairly and sustainably—avoiding political fights, price shocks and environmental damage. “Without a shared framework, we risk deepening global inequalities, triggering unnecessary resource conflicts and undermining our ability to deliver on climate goals,” says Ali, who also leads the Critical Minerals and Inclusive Energy Transition program at the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health. The proposed Trust would use independent checks—similar to those used in nuclear safety—to make sure countries are meeting environmental and social standards. Each nation would keep control of its own resources but agree to prioritize sales of those minerals at market prices so that they can be used for clean energy infrastructure. The article builds on a TED Talk that Ali gave last year as part of the Rockefeller Foundation's "Big Bets" initiative. Ali is available for interviews on the topic and can be reached by clicking on his profile.
Covering the latest developments in Iran? Our experts are here to help with your coverage.
Iran’s nuclear program remains one of the most closely watched issues in international security, diplomacy, and nonproliferation. Originally launched in the 1950s with Western support, the program has since evolved into a focal point of global concern over nuclear weapons, regional stability, and international trust. As negotiations continue to stall and enrichment capabilities increase, understanding the historical context, scientific progress, and geopolitical consequences of Iran’s nuclear ambitions is critical for public awareness. This topic provides journalists with high-impact angles spanning diplomacy, science, and security. Key story angles include: Origins and Evolution of the Program: Tracing the nuclear program from its U.S.-backed beginnings under the Shah to its secret expansion after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The JCPOA (Iran Nuclear Deal): Examining the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, its successes, its unraveling after the U.S. withdrawal in 2018, and current attempts to revive it. Scientific Advances and Enrichment Capacity: Analyzing Iran’s current uranium enrichment levels, centrifuge technology, and what experts say about its "breakout time." Regional and Global Security Concerns: Investigating how Iran’s program affects Middle Eastern tensions, Israeli security policy, and broader nuclear proliferation risks. Diplomatic Stalemates and Sanctions: Reviewing the impact of international sanctions, diplomatic efforts by the EU, China, and Russia, and the political dynamics within Iran. The Risk of Escalation or Military Conflict: Exploring scenarios that could lead to open confrontation and what military analysts say about preemptive strikes or deterrence strategies. Iran’s nuclear program is not just a regional issue—it’s a global flashpoint at the intersection of science, diplomacy, and international law. Journalists covering this story have an opportunity to unpack a decades-long narrative with renewed urgency. Connect with our experts about Iran’s Nuclear Program: History, Progress, and Global Risks: Check out our experts here : www.expertfile.com
#ExpertSpotlight: India-Pakistan Conflict: Historical Roots and Ongoing Tensions
The India-Pakistan conflict remains one of the most enduring and complex geopolitical disputes in modern history. Rooted in the partition of British India in 1947, the conflict has evolved over decades to include territorial disputes, religious and cultural divisions, and nuclear rivalry. With both countries possessing significant military power and global influence, tensions between India and Pakistan have far-reaching consequences for regional stability, international diplomacy, and global security. As new developments continue to emerge, understanding the conflict’s origins and timeline is critical for comprehensive reporting. Key story angles include: The Partition of 1947 and Its Aftermath: Examining the division of British India, the creation of Pakistan, and the resulting violence and mass displacement. Kashmir: A Disputed Territory: Analyzing the root of territorial disputes over Kashmir, including the wars of 1947, 1965, and 1999, and ongoing claims from both nations. Nuclear Deterrence and Military Escalation: Exploring the impact of both nations becoming nuclear powers and how this has shaped diplomatic and military strategy. Cross-Border Terrorism and Insurgency: Investigating allegations of state-sponsored terrorism, militant activity, and their role in inflaming tensions. Peace Initiatives and Diplomatic Breakdowns: Highlighting past attempts at peace talks, confidence-building measures, and why many efforts have faltered. Global Implications and International Mediation: Assessing how global powers like the U.S., China, and the U.N. view the conflict and what role they play in de-escalation efforts. As tensions between India and Pakistan continue to affect regional and international relations, revisiting the historical context and current stakes provides crucial insights for journalists covering conflict, diplomacy, and security. Connect with an expert about India and Pakistan: To search our full list of experts visit www.expertfile.com
The box office smash "Oppenheimer" captured imagination of a new generation of Americans who never knew a world without nuclear weapons. University of Delaware professor Art Trembanis can provide a unique perspective on this topic as well as the history of nuclear weapon testing. Four years ago, he was part of a team that visited the Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean's Marshall Islands, where the United States conducted a series of nuclear weapons tests in the 1940s and 1950s that sank warships, tanks and other vehicles as part of a simulated nuclear battlefield. He realized that if he had been in that spot during any one of those tests, he would have been engulfed in a humongous atomic mushroom cloud. Trembanis' team was tasked with conducting an underwater mapping effort to locate and characterize the 12-ship ghost fleet that sits 180 feet deep at the bottom of Bikini Lagoon. He is available for interviews and can be contacted by clicking on his profile photo or via his ExpertFile profile.
Researchers fight cybercrime with new digital forensic tools and techniques
Irfan Ahmed, Ph.D., associate professor of computer science, provides digital forensic tools — and the knowledge to use them — to the good guys fighting the never-ending cyber-security war. Ahmed is director of the Security and Forensics Engineering (SAFE) Lab within the Department of Computer Science and VCU Engineering. He leads a pair of interrelated projects funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) aimed at keeping important industrial systems safe from the bad guys — and shows the same tools crafted for investigating cyber attacks can be used to probe other crimes. The goal of cyber attacks on physical infrastructure may be to cause chaos by disrupting systems and/or to hold systems for ransom. The SAFE lab focuses on protecting industrial control systems used in the operation of nuclear plants, dams, electricity delivery systems and a wide range of other elements of critical infrastructure in the U.S. The problem isn’t new: In 2010, the Stuxnet computer worm targeted centrifuges at Iranian nuclear facilities before getting loose and infecting “innocent” computers around the world. Cyber attacks often target a portion of the software architecture known as the control logic. Control logic is vulnerable in that one of its functions is to receive instructions from the user and hand them off to be executed by a programmable logic controller. For instance, the control logic monitoring a natural gas pipeline might be programmed to open a valve if the system detects pressure getting too high. Programmers can modify the control logic — but so can attackers. One of Ahmed’s DHS-supported projects, called “Digital Forensic Tools and Techniques for Investigating Control Logic Attacks in Industrial Control Systems,” allows him to craft devices and techniques that cyber detectives can use in their investigations of attacks on sensitive critical infrastructure. Their investigation capabilities, he explains, is an under-researched area, as most of the emphasis to date has been on the prevention and detection of their cyber attacks. “The best scenario is to prevent the attacks on industrial systems,” Ahmed said. “But if an attack does happen, then what? This is where we try to fill the gap at VCU. And the knowledge that we gain in a cyber attack investigation can further help us to detect or even prevent similar attacks.” In the cat-and-mouse world of cyber security, the way cybercriminals work is in constant evolution, and Ahmed’s SAFE lab pays close attention to the latest developments by malefactors. For instance, an attacker may go for a more subtle approach than modifying the original control logic. An attack method called return-oriented programming sees the malefactor using the existing control logic code, but artfully switching the execution sequence of the code. Other attackers might insert their malware into another area of the controller, programmed to run undetected until it can replace the function of the original control logic. Attackers are always coming up with new methods, but each attack leaves evidence behind. The SAFE lab examines possible attack scenarios through simulations. Scale models of physical systems, including an elevator and a belt conveyor system, are housed at the SAFE lab to help facilitate this. The elevator is a four-floor model with inside and outside buttons feeding into a programmable logic controller. The conveyor belt is more advanced, equipped with inductive, capacitive and photoelectric sensors and able to sort objects. The tools and methods applied in cybercrime can be useful in tracking down other malefactors. That’s where Ahmed’s second DHS-funded project comes in. It’s called “Data Science-integrated Experiential Digital Forensics Training based-on Real-world Case Studies of Cybercrime Artifacts.” Ahmed is the principal investigator, working with co-PI Kostadin Damevski, Ph.D., associate professor of computer science. The goal is to keep law enforcement personnel abreast of the latest trends in the field of cybercrime investigation and to equip them with the latest tools and techniques, including those developed in the SAFE lab. “For example, investigators often have to go through thousands of images, or emails or chats, looking for something very specific,” Ahmed said. “We believe the right data science tools can help them to narrow down that search.” The FBI and other law enforcement agencies already have dedicated cybersleuthing units; the Virginia State Police have a computer evidence recovery section in Richmond. Ahmed and Damevski are arranging sessions showing investigators how techniques from data science and machine learning can make investigations more efficient by sorting through the mounds of digital evidence that increasingly is a feature of modern crime.
Ask an Expert: Is the "AI Moratorium" too far reaching?
Recent responses to chatGPT have featured eminent technologists calling for a six-month moratorium on the development of “AI systems more powerful than GPT-4.” Dr. Jeremy Kedziora, PieperPower Endowed Chair in Artificial Intelligence at Milwaukee School of Engineering, supports a middle ground approach between unregulated development and a pause. He says, "I do not agree with a moratorium, but I would call for government action to develop regulatory guidelines for AI use, particularly for endowing AIs with actions." Dr. Kedziora is available as a subject matter expert on the recent "AI moratorium" that was issued by tech leaders. According to Dr. Kedziora: There are good reasons to call for additional oversight of AI creation: Large deep or reinforcement learning systems encode complicated relationships that are difficult for users to predict and understand. Integrating them into daily use by billions of people implies some sort of complex adaptive system in which it is even more difficult for planners to anticipate, predict, and plan. This is likely fertile ground for unintended – and bad – outcomes. Rather than outright replacement, a very real possibility is that AI-enabled workers will have sufficiently high productivity that we’ll need less workers to accomplish tasks. The implication is that there won’t be enough jobs for those who want them. This means that governments will need to seriously consider proposals for UBI and work to limit economic displacement, work which will require time and political bargaining. I do not think it is controversial that we would not want a research group at MIT or CalTech, or anywhere developing an unregulated nuclear weapon. Given the difficulty in predicting its impact, AI may well be in the same category of powerful, suggesting that its creation should be subject to the democratic process. At the same time, there are some important things to keep in mind regarding chatGPT-like AI systems that suggest there are inherent limits to their impact: Though chatGPT may appear–at times–to pass the famous Turing test, this does not imply these systems ’think,’ or are ’self-aware,’ or are ’alive.’ The Turing test aims to avoid answering these questions altogether by simply asking if a machine can be distinguished from a human by another human. At the end of the day, chatGPT is nothing more than a bunch of weights! Contemporary AIs–chatGPT included–have very limited levers to pull. They simply can’t take many actions. Indeed, chatGPT’s only action is to create text in response to a prompt. It cannot do anything independently. Its effects, for now, are limited to passing through the hands of humans and to the social changes it could thereby create. The call for a moratorium emphasizes ‘control’ over AI. It is worth asking just what this control means. Take chatGPT as an example–can its makers control responses to prompts? Probably only in a limited fashion at best, with less and less ability as more people use it. There simply aren’t resources to police its responses. Can chatGPT’s makers ‘flip the off switch?’ Absolutely – restricting access to the API would effectively turn chatGPT off. In that sense, it is certainly under the same kind of control humans subjected to government are. Keep in mind that there are coordination problems – just because there is an AI moratorium in the US does not mean that other countries–particularly US adversaries– will stop development. And as others have said: “as long as AI systems have objectives set by humans, most ethics concerns related to artificial intelligence come from the ethics of the countries wielding them.” There are definitional problems with this sort of moratorium – who would be subject to it? Industry actors? Academics? The criterion those who call for the moratorium use is “AI systems more powerful than GPT-4.” What does “powerful” mean? Enforcement requires drawing boundaries around which AI development is subject to a moratorium – without those boundaries how would such a policy be enforced? It might already be too late – some already claim that they’ve recreated chatGPT. There are two major groups to think about when looking for develop regulatory solutions for AI: academia and industry. There may already be good vehicles for regulating academic research, for example oversight of grant funding. Oversight of AI development in industry is an area that requires attention and application of expertise. If you're a journalist covering Artificial Intelligence, then let us help. Dr. Kedziora is a respected expert in Data Science, Machine Learning, Statistical Modeling, Bayesian Inference, Game Theory and things AI. He's available to speak with the media - simply click on the icon now to arrange an interview today.
