The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, best known for its iconic “Doomsday Clock,” has selected internationally recognized nuclear security expert Dr. Siegfried Hecker as chair of the organization’s distinguished Board of Sponsors.
Hecker currently serves as a professor of practice in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Texas A&M University and as a Faculty Fellow in the Texas A&M Center for Nuclear Security Science and Policy Initiatives.
His research and expertise center around global threat reduction and nuclear security, as well as nuclear weapon policy and plutonium science.
“The topics the Bulletin covers are as relevant now as they were at the time the Board of Sponsors was founded. I look forward to leading the Board into an era of renewed investment in and support of the Bulletin’s vital work,” Hecker said in a statement.
The Bulletin’s Board of Sponsors was first created by Albert Einstein in December 1948 and led by the renowned Robert Oppenheimer.
According to the organization, “members of the Board of Sponsors are consulted on key issues, including the setting of the Bulletin’s Doomsday Clock. These board members are recruited by their peers from the world’s most accomplished science and security leaders to reinforce the importance of the Bulletin’s activities and publications.”
Hecker will attend this year’s Doomsday Clock reveal on Jan. 24 in Washington, D.C., as part of his role with the Bulletin.