Year
2025
Abstract
Over the past 20 years, Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia) has developed the Nonproliferation Mentorship Program (NMP) into a rigorous knowledge-transfer mechanism for early/mid-career professionals. The program offers a rigorous understanding of the drivers, dynamics, decisions, and designs related to reducing global WMD-related risks. Building on a foundation of critical and systems thinking, the NMP offers an interdisciplinary perspective of the technical, social, and political influences underlying nonproliferation and nuclear security initiatives. The program consists of two phases. Phase I is a graduate-level course titled “Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Non-Proliferation Science and Policy” (collaboratively offered at the University of New Mexico). Phase II is an applied research (or capstone) project where NMP participants investigate a unique, challenging problem under the guidance of a subject matter expert mentor. To be an effective resource for developing future nonproliferation professionals, the NMP evolves to align with – and anticipate – fluctuating geopolitical and technological dynamics. The results of a 2025 survey of NMP graduates offer insights and feedback that will help enhance and expand the capability of Sandia’s NMP to produce high-quality nonproliferation experts prepared to mitigate tomorrow’s WMD proliferation challenges and nuclear risks.