NTI Co-Chairman and CEO Ernest Moniz Profiled in CQ Magazine

As part of its Influencers section, CQ Magazine recently
interviewed NTI CEO and Co-Chairman and former Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz.
See below for excerpts of the article, headlined “’Rock Star’ Physicist Remains
at the Forefront.” 

• “On June 1, Moniz took charge at the Nuclear Threat
  Initiative, a nongovernmental group based in Washington seeking to reduce the
  perils of nuclear and biological weapons. It is in many ways a continuation of
  Moniz’s work at the Energy Department, the federal overseer of all things
  nuclear: energy, research, weaponry and waste disposal.”

…

• “Nunn, who remains co-chairman of the Nuclear Threat
  Initiative board but has turned over the role of CEO to Moniz, was ecstatic
  when he announced the arrangement in March. ‘Among many other accomplishments,
  he played a pivotal role in the successful conclusion of the Iran agreement,’
  Nunn said. ‘Ernie is an outstanding leader and a brilliant thinker, who is
  respected around the globe.’”

…

• “A starting point for Moniz’s work is the list of 51 recommendations for ‘mutually beneficial
  cooperation’ with Russia, part of a joint report issued in February by the
  institute and the Moscow-based Center for Energy and Security Studies. That
  includes ‘keeping nuclear weapons or materials out of the hands of ISIS, which
  is a shared objective,’ Moniz says. One high priority
  will be encouraging an aggressive response to the nuclear threat posed by North Korea, Moniz says. ‘That has to be
  addressed,” he says. “We want to have strong discussion here on what we can do
  in that debate.’”

…

• “Another top concern is the 850 irradiators in the U.S. —
  mostly used to treat blood before transfusions — that contain a powdered form
  of cesium that could be used to make a dirty bomb. Moniz says the Nuclear Threat
  Initiative is working with all the hospitals in New York City to replace cesium
  irradiators with alternative devices that are just as effective, and that
  effort will be expanded to other cities.”
• “The Nuclear Threat Initiative has also hired Beth Cameron,
  previously the senior director for global health security and biodefense on the
  White House National Security Council staff, to focus on the threat of
  biological weapons. ‘We’re going to look at how we can ramp up there,’ Moniz
  says. ‘Perhaps start a
  threat index on how countries are prepared or not. We also want to look
  hard at assessing the risks and how they can be addressed with new technology
  development.’”

Note: CQ Magazine is a
subscription publication.

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here to learn more about NTI’s work on reducing dirty bomb threats, and here to learn about our work on
biosecurity.