Weiss chosen as 2023 Next-Generation Fellow of the Physicists Coalition for Nuclear Threat Reduction

headshot of person in front of bookshelves.
February 8, 2023

Wright Lab graduate student Talia Weiss has been chosen as one of five 2023 Next-Generation Fellows of the Physicists Coalition for Nuclear Threat Reduction.  Wright Lab alum Nathaniel Barbour, ‘18, now a physics Ph.D. candidate at the University of Maryland, is also a 2023 fellow.

Throughout the next year, the fellows will work together with Coalition experts to grow their science advocacy skills and build their knowledge of nuclear weapons policy.

Weiss said, “I am excited for this opportunity to connect physics knowledge with policy research and advocacy in an effort to reduce dangers posed by nuclear weapons. Physicists have a rich legacy of promoting arms control and conducting key technical analyses, given our field’s central role in creating nuclear weapons. The Physicists Coalition Fellowship program is helping my generation to continue this legacy, and I’m so grateful for that.”

Weiss’ research in the Heeger group centers on measuring the neutrino mass using tritium beta decay with the Project 8 experiment. She holds an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Chicago and a B.S. in Physics from MIT.

Weiss said, “I look forward to applying the physics that I’ve learned at Yale to my work for the Fellowship, and to bringing the Fellowship’s issues and approaches to the Yale Physics community.”

At Yale, Weiss created and leads the Kimball Smith Series, a program that tackles issues at the intersection of science and global affairs—ranging from nuclear weapons risks to artificial intelligence policy. Previously, she developed a similar event series for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

Weiss serves as Deputy Director of International Student/Young Pugwash (ISYP), a global network of young professionals who engage in cross-national dialogue on topics in science and security. She has written and spoken on the history of scientific self-regulation, lessons learned from the case of Nazi nuclear physicists, and how the inventors of CRISPR gene editing viewed the ethics of their research.

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