The American Nuclear Society Presents Second Dwight D. Eisenhower Award at ANS Winter Meeting
Susan E. Eisenhower presented the second American Nuclear Society (ANS ) Dwight D. Eisenhower Award to three outstanding leaders in nuclear nonproliferation at the ANS Winter Meeting Monday, October 30 in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Siegfried Hecker, former Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) and former Senator Sam Nunn (D-GA) are being honored for their historic achievements in the advancement of nuclear nonproliferation, arms control, and peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
Dr. Siegfried Hecker, an international expert in plutonium metallurgy, was recognized for his nuclear non–proliferation efforts during and following his tenure as the Director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Dr. Hecker was part of a historic visit by a U.S. delegation to Sarov, Russia, known as Arazamas-16 during the Cold War. This was the first visit to the closed city by the U.S., and it laid the foundation for a series of programs aimed at securing nuclear materials in Russia and all of its former republics. Dr. Hecker’s current research at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation is focused on reducing the risks of nuclear terrorism worldwide, the nuclear challenges in India, North Korea, Pakistan, and the nuclear aspirations of Iran.
Former Senator Richard Lugar was honored for his leadership in promoting global security through cooperative international efforts to secure nuclear materials and reduce the threat of weapons of mass destruction. His distinguished career as a U.S. Senator included passage of the Soviet Nuclear Threat Reduction Act of 1991, known as the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, which provided assistance to Russia and the former Soviet republics for securing and destroying their excess nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. The Act led to the development of a Cooperative Threat Reduction program supported by the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations. President Barack Obama presented Senator Lugar with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013.
During his tenure in the U.S. Senate, Senator Sam Nunn served as the chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services and the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. His legislative achievements include drafting and passing the landmark Department of Defense Reorganization Act with the late Senator Barry Goldwater and partnering with Senator Lugar on the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program. He is also co-founder of the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), a respected nongovernmental organization working to advance nuclear nonproliferation. Senator Nunn served as chief executive officer of NTI for 16 years and continues his service as co-chairman of NTI.
The first ANS Dwight D. Eisenhower Award was presented in 2015 to George P. Shultz, former U.S. Secretary of State, and the late Sidney Drell, a longtime champion of nuclear nonproliferation.
