Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize will be among leading security experts speaking on a panel entitled “Opportunities and Challenges: Nuclear Renaissance, Disarmament, Terrorism and Proliferation” on March 18 at 10 a.m. in Masters Hall at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education Conference Center and Hotel.
The panel discussion, which is free and open to the public, is part of an event commemorating the 20th anniversary of UGA’s Center for International Trade and Security. Bringing together national and international security experts along with CITS researchers, the conference will reflect on the center’s past 20 years and address strategic challenges and opportunities regarding proliferation and international security. The event is being made possible by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
“The 10 a.m. panel is a powerhouse addressing some of the critical nuclear security issues of our time,” said Gary Bertsch, CITS director. “Mohamed ElBaradei is an international statesman and official on nuclear security. Joining him on the panel are three prominent experts: Gen. Eugene Habiger, former commander in chief of all U.S. nuclear forces; Joseph Cirincione, leading U.S. nonproliferation advocate and president of the Ploughshares Fund; and Igor Khripunov, former Gorbachev adviser and Russian arms control expert.”
Since its inception, CITS has been devoted to research, teaching and outreach on issues related to international trade and security. CITS is highly regarded across the world for its research on nonproliferation export controls: the laws, regulations and enforcement arrangements that keep the components of nuclear, biological or chemical weapons from falling into the hands of terrorists and countries of concern.
ElBaradei was appointed to the position of director general at the International Atomic Energy Agency in 1997. In October 2005, ElBaradei and the IAEA were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for their efforts to prevent nuclear energy from being used for military purposes and to ensure that nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is used in the safest possible way.”
ElBaradei also will be on campus to receive the 2009 Delta Prize for Global Understanding.
