November Spotlight Seminar: Honey, I Shrunk the Lab: Emerging Microfluidics Technology and its Implications for Chemical, Biological, and Nuclear Weapons

Professor Philipp Bleek and analyst Cyrus Jabbari, joined by colleagues with relevant technical and policy backgrounds, present research on rapidly emerging microfluidics technology and its implications for chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. Picture a computer chip, but instead of wires, tiny channels through which liquids flow and mix. The chemistry microfluidics enables has current and potential implications for both CBRN offense and defense. Policymakers working in the CBRN domain have opportunities to get ahead of, or at least less behind, some of these developments.

Participant Bios

Dr. Philipp Bleek is Associate Professor and Program Chair (Acting) of the Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies Program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. His work addresses the causes, consequences, and amelioration of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons threats at the intersection of academia, non-governmental organizations, and government. In 2012-13, he was on leave from his faculty position to serve as Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs.

Mr. Cyrus Jabbari is a graduate student at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey attaining an MA and specializing in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies. He holds a BA in International Relations, with an emphasis in national security and Middle East studies from the University of Southern California. Cyrus previously worked at the Congressional Research Service in WMD nonproliferation, in which he researched, analyzed, authored, and briefed products for congressional inquiries on issues related to WMD and WME.

Dr. Gerald Epstein joined National Defense University’s Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction in July 2018 as a Distinguished Research Fellow. In that capacity he addresses challenges posed by nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, particularly including the security implications of advanced life sciences, biotechnologies, and other emerging and converging technologies. Prior to arriving at National Defense University (NDU), he served as Assistant Director for Biosecurity and Emerging Technologies at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), where he served on detail from his position as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Policy at the Department of Homeland Security.

All attendees who do not have a Common Access Card (CAC), must submit a base access form in order to attend. You will receive this form once you have reserved a ticket.

If you have any questions about registration or the event please contact Nick Winstead at CSWMD-Admin@ndu.edu