Rod Ewing, a leading expert on nuclear materials, has been named the inaugural Frank Stanton Professor in Nuclear Security at the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC).
Ewing has written extensively on issues relating to nuclear waste management and is Chair of the US Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board. He will have a joint appointment as Professor of Geological and Environmental Sciences in the School of Earth Sciences and as a Senior Fellow at CISAC. He will begin his new position at Stanford in January.
“Given the very long and distinguished history of the Stanton Foundation’s involvement in issues of nuclear security, this appointment provides me with a unique opportunity to blend science with security policy,” Ewing said.
The endowed chair was recently established with a $5 million gift to CISAC from the Stanton Foundation to aid the center in its long-standing mission to build a safer world through rigorous policy research in nuclear security.
Ewing, currently the Edward H. Kraus Distinguished Professor in the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences at the University of Michigan, will conduct research on nuclear security and energy and related issues relevant to international arms control policy when he arrives at Stanford.
He will also teach a course at CISAC related to nuclear security issues. In his research at Stanford’s School of Earth Sciences, Ewing will focus on the response of materials to extreme environments, and the demand for strategic minerals for use in the development of sustainable energy technologies.
Ewing received a BS degree in geology from Texas Christian University (1968, summa cum laude) and MS (l972) and PhD (l974, with distinction) degrees from Stanford University, where he held a Fellowship from the National Science Foundation. His honors include Fellow of the Geological Society of America, Mineralogical Society of America, American Geophysical Union, Geochemical Society, American Ceramic Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Materials Research Society. Ewing’s involvement in issues related to the nuclear fuel cycle has proceeded in parallel with the meetings of the Materials Research Society, where he has been a member of the program committee for the symposium on the Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management held in 10 different countries over the past 35 years.