Bruce G. Blair

Bruce G. Blair (born 1947)[1] is a nuclear security expert and a research scholar at the Program on Science and Global Security at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Joining the program in May 2013, he focuses on technical and policy steps on the path toward the verifiable elimination of nuclear weapons, specifically on deep bilateral nuclear arms reductions, multilateral arms negotiations and de-alerting of nuclear arsenals.[2] He is co-founder of Global Zero, an international non-partisan group consisting of 300 world leaders, over 150 student chapters and millions of supporters worldwide dedicated to achieving the elimination of nuclear weapons.[3]

Blair is an expert on U.S. and Russian security policies, specializing in nuclear forces and command and control systems.[4] He has frequently testified before Congress[5][6] [7][8][9] In 2011, he was appointed to the U.S. Secretary of State’s International Security Advisory Board, a small group of experts that provides the Department of State with independent insight and advice on all aspects of international security, disarmament and arms control.[10] He has also taught security studies as a visiting professor at Yale and Princeton universities. In 1999, he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship Prize for his research, work and leadership on de-alerting nuclear forces.[11] In 2008, he was selected as a finalist for the Skoll Social Entrepreneur Award.

Blair's expertise has helped make nuclear and global affairs issues accessible to the public in various media outlets. He was an executive producer of Countdown to Zero,[12] a documentary film on nuclear weapons.[13] He also created and was the executive producer of the PBS weekly television series Superpower: Global Affairs Television (2002–2004), and was the executive producer for Azimuth Media and its weekly PBS television series, Foreign Exchange, which was first hosted by Fareed Zakaria (2005–2007) and subsequently by Daljit Dhaliwal (2008–2009).

Prior to his position at Princeton, Blair was the president of the World Security Institute,[14] a non-profit organization.[14] He was a senior fellow in the Foreign Policy Studies Program at the Brookings Institution from 1987 to 2000.[15][16] Previously, he served as a project director at the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment from 1982 to 1985, where he worked on a study of the U.S.'s ability to communicate with its strategic forces.[17] From 1970 to 1974, Blair served in the U.S. Air Force, serving as a Minuteman ICBM launch control officer and support officer for the Strategic Air Command’s Airborne Command Post.[18]

He published the Washington ProFile (Russian), Washington Observer (Chinese), Washington Prism (Persian), Taqrir Washington (Arabic) and China Security.[19] He was also the executive producer of two television documentaries, CNN PresentsDeadlock: Russia’s Forgotten War[20] and the PBS FRONTLINE’s Missile Wars[21] in 2002.

He is the author of numerous books and articles on security issues in such publications as Scientific American, National Interest, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. His books include Strategic Command and Control (Brookings, 1985), winner of the Edgar S. Furniss Award for its contribution to the study of national security; Crisis Stability and Nuclear War (Oxford, 1988; co-editor); The Logic of Accidental Nuclear War (Brookings, 1993); and Global Zero Alert for Nuclear Forces (Brookings, 1995).[22] Blair earned a Ph.D. in operations research at Yale University in 1984.[23] He received his B.S. in communications from the University of Illinois in 1970.

Books

Publications

References

  1. "VIAF: Bruce Blair". Retrieved 2013-12-09.
  2. "Bruce G. Blair". Princeton University.
  3. "Dr. Bruce Blair". Global Zero. Retrieved 20 Dec 2013.
  4. Mintz, Morton (5 Dec 2002). "Hair-Raising Hair Triggers". The American Prospect. Retrieved 19 Dec 2013.
  5. "Statement of Bruce Blair to the House National Security Subcommittee". 13 March 1997. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  6. "Testimony to the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces" (PDF). 19 March 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  7. Lynch, Colum (1 November 2007). "U.S. Official is Faulted for Nuclear Weapons Claim". The Washington Post. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  8. Schell, Jonathan (1998). "The Gift of Time: Case for Abolishing Nuclear Weapons Now". Granta.
  9. Broad, William J. (8 October 1993). "Russia Has 'Doomsday' Machine, U.S. Expert Says". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  10. "ISAB: Current Board Members". The Office of Web Management, Bureau of Public Affairs. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  11. "Brookings Senior Fellow Bruce Blair Wins 'No Strings Attached' MacArthur Award". Brookings Institution. 23 June 1999. Retrieved 19 Dec 2013.
  12. "Bruce Blair - IMDb". Retrieved 19 Dec 2013.
  13. "Countdown to Zero" (PDF) (Press release). dogwoof. 2010. Retrieved 2013-12-09.
  14. 14.0 14.1 "World Security Institute: About Us". Retrieved 2013-12-09.
  15. "Interview - Bruce Blair". PBS Frontline. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  16. "More Missteps: Air Force official in charge of nukes left open blast door, sources say". Fox News. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  17. Gordon, Michael R. (1986-05-15). "Tug of War, With a Twist, On Secrets". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  18. Hoffman, David (2009). The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and its Dangerous Legacy. Random House LLC. pp. 365–66.
  19. "Bruce Blair Biography". All American Speakers. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  20. "Deadlock: Russia's Forgotten War". CNN. 2005. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  21. "Missile Wars". Frontline: PBS. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  22. "Brookings Senior Fellow Bruce Blair Wins "No Strings Attached" MacArthur Award" (23 JUNE 1999). Brookings Institution. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  23. "Bruce G. Blair". Princeton University. Retrieved 2013-12-09.