Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Title	Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Category	Science policy
Frequency	Bimonthly
Founded	1945
Country	United States
Based	Chicago, Illinois
Language	English

Contents

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is a nonprofit journalism and policy organization focused on existential risk, technological hazards, and public policy related to nuclear weapons, climate change, biotechnology, and emerging technologies. Founded in 1945 by scientists associated with the Manhattan Project, the organization rapidly engaged figures from University of Chicago, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Harvard University to influence debates at venues such as the United Nations and the United States Congress. Its work intersects with major events and institutions including the Cold War, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and contemporary forums like the World Economic Forum.

History

The publication began after World War II when scientists including members of Manhattan Project alumni and affiliates from University of Chicago and Los Alamos National Laboratory sought public dialogue about the consequences of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Early contributors included participants connected to Trinity (nuclear test), scholars tied to Chicago Pile-1, and policymakers who later engaged with the Baruch Plan and debates at the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission. During the Cold War the organization reacted to crises including the Berlin Blockade, the Korean War, and the Cuban Missile Crisis, while commentators drew on expertise from scholars at Columbia University, Yale University, Stanford University, and Johns Hopkins University. In later decades its coverage expanded to issues raised by the Biological Weapons Convention, the Montreal Protocol, the Kyoto Protocol, and the emergence of the Internet and CRISPR technologies.

The organization defines its mission around reducing existential threats and informing policy debates involving actors such as the United States Department of Defense, Russian Federation, People's Republic of China, European Union, and multilateral regimes including the International Atomic Energy Agency. Editorial emphasis ranges across nuclear strategy discussions referencing scholars connected to RAND Corporation and Brookings Institution, climate science analyses referencing Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change authors and activists from Greenpeace and Sierra Club, as well as biosecurity pieces engaging researchers from National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Bulletin's editorial board has featured signatories with ties to Nobel Prize laureates, academicians from Royal Society, and advisors who have briefed committees in United States Congress and panels convened by the United Nations.

A signature feature is the symbolic "Doomsday Clock", maintained in consultation with experts drawn from institutions like Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, Yale University, University of Cambridge, and think tanks such as Chatham House. The Clock has been adjusted in response to crises including the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Soviet–Afghan War, the Iran–Iraq War, the signing of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, and assessments by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and World Health Organization. Announcements of Clock changes have been covered in media outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, BBC News, and The Guardian and have influenced discussions at summits like the Nuclear Security Summit and sessions of the United Nations General Assembly.

The organization produces peer-reviewed commentary, policy briefs, and investigative reporting drawing on expertise from laboratories and universities including Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Notable topics have included analyses of arms-control treaties like the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, technical assessments of missile defense systems debated at North Atlantic Treaty Organization forums, climate modeling tied to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change scenarios, and biosecurity risk appraisals referencing work from Rockefeller University and ETH Zurich. The Bulletin has published contributions from figures associated with Albert Einstein, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Enrico Fermi schools of thought, and later scholars connected to Hans Bethe, Lewis Strauss, Edward Teller, and contemporary analysts from Harvard Kennedy School and Yale School of Public Health.

Governance includes a board of directors and a Science and Security Board composed of experts affiliated with Columbia University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, Stanford University, and international institutions such as University of Oxford and Sciences Po. The organization engages Editors-in-Chief and advisory committees that have included members with prior service at United States Department of State, National Security Council (United States), International Committee of the Red Cross, and nongovernmental organizations like Physicians for Social Responsibility and Union of Concerned Scientists. Funding historically has come from foundations and donors linked to institutions such as the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Ford Foundation, and philanthropic trusts that also support research at Rockefeller Foundation-funded centers.

The organization has influenced policy debates on arms control, climate action, and biosecurity, cited by legislators in United States Congress hearings, referenced in judgments by the International Court of Justice, and discussed at conferences like the NATO Science for Peace and Security forum and the Munich Security Conference. Critics from factions tied to Department of Defense analyses, advocates associated with Heritage Foundation and Cato Institute, and some scholars at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have challenged interpretations of technical risks, while commentators from media outlets such as Fox News and National Review have disputed policy recommendations. Debates have centered on assessments of nuclear posture following treaties like the New START Treaty, climate attribution studies tied to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change findings, and biosecurity commentary after incidents like the 2014–2016 Ebola epidemic and laboratory-associated events.

Category:Science journalism Category:Nuclear proliferation Category:Non-profit organizations based in Chicago