Southeast Nuclear Research Conference

Southeast Nuclear Research Conference

May 1, 2026

Baldwin Hall – Punaro Room (355 South Jackson Street, 4th Floor)

8:30-9:00am Breakfast

9:00-9:05am Welcome Remarks

Dr. Ryan Powers, Gary K. Bertsch Director of the Benson-Bertsch Center for International Trade and Security

            Dr. Naomi Egel, Assistant Professor of International Affairs

9:05-10:20 Panel 1: Proliferation, Crises, and Accidents

Moderator: Dr. Ryan Powers

Ella Carver: Holes in the Umbrella: Examining the Credibility of the U.S. Nuclear Deterrence Strategy

Alex King: Nuclear Proliferation and External Influence

Larissa Lozano: Tipping Nuclear Dominoes: Alliances and Proliferation Among Nuclear Neighbors

Ali Whatley: Nuclear Testing and Normal Accidents: A Case Study of The Castle Bravo Accident

Hasan Sourav: How the Dynamic Between Domestic Politics and Leadership Psychology Affects Nuclear-Foreign Policies

10:20-10:30 Break

10:30-11:30 Panel 2: International Governance of Nuclear Weapons

Moderator: Dr. Maryann Gallagher

Vladyslav Senenko: Sarcophagus Politics: Chornobyl, Wartime Nuclear Aggression, and the Limits of the International Nuclear Order in Ukraine (1953-2025)

Britton Hare: Framing the Bomb: A Comparative Analysis of Metaphor in English and Chinese Nuclear Discourse

Rylee Matteson: Beyond Deadlock: A Phased Strategy for a Middle East Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone

Aiden Duffy: Governing the Algorithmic Battlefield: International Regulation of Lethal
Autonomous Weapons

11:30-11:40 Break

11:40-12:40 Keynote Address: Dr. Matthew Sharp

12:45-2:15 Lunch

            Poster Session 1: 12:45-1:25

Billy Edmonson, Aiza Kidwai, Henry Koerner, Margaret Kretzer, Teresa Lu, Jack Lutz, Ethan
Marcum, Danielle Owens, Katherine Piroumian, Ana Valencia, Elijah Watson

            Poster Session 2: 1:25-2:05

Ella Bryan, Bryson Clark, Bennett Culbertson, Tangela Dumas, Kristalee Gonzalez-Perez, Eden
Levitt-Horne, Matthew Lor, Jordyn MacMillan, David Smart, Caroline Spengler, Ryan Varma

2:15-3:15 Panel 3: Domestic Politics and Nuclear Weapons

Moderator: Dr. Bree Bang-Jensen

Aaron Knapp: My Pastor Wants a Nuke: Analyzing the Influence of Religious Nationalism on Nuclear Security Religion

Logan Owens: The Concern of the United States President’s Sole Authority of Nuclear Weapons

Mary Sippel: Disarmament and deterrence: Debates in 3 Key NATO Countries

Ana Julia Polare da Costa: Permissible Catastrophe: Public Opinion and the Erosion of the Nuclear
Taboo

Mary Wahn: In Canisters We Trust? Measuring Public Attitudes Towards Spent Nuclear Fuel Management in the United States

3:15-3:35 Break

3:35-4:50 Panel 4: Nuclear Latency

Moderator: Daniel Burman

Paula Sevillano: Selective Cooperation in Practice: Europe’s Nuclear Dilemma with China and India

Patrick Murphy: Why do states with the technical capacity to develop nuclear weapons ultimately choose restraint?

Haven Somerson: Managing the Fallout: U.S. Strategy for Iran’s Nuclear Latency

Alex Whirley: The Chain Reaction: Managing the Middle East’s Asymmetric Nuclear Cascade

4:50-5:00 Break

5:00-6:00 Keynote Address: M. Elaine Bunn