The Federation of American Scientists is proud to announce that Hans Kristensen, Nuclear Information Project director, is honored as a Carnegie Corporation of New York 2020 Great Immigrant, Great American.

The Great Immigrant, Great American initiative is a tribute to its namesake, the Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, and recognizes American immigrants who have contributed greatly to American life in a variety of fields. Honorees like Hans Kristensen demonstrate an exceptional commitment to excellence in fields of research, art, medicine, entrepreneurship, and more. 

Kristensen oversees the Nuclear Information Project, called by the Washington Post “one of the most widely sourced agencies for nuclear warhead counts,” which publishes the world-famous Nuclear Notebook and SIPRI overview of world nuclear forces. He is a frequent consultant to and is widely referenced in national and international news media on the role and status of nuclear weapons.

“I’m deeply honored and humbled to receive this award. As a nuclear weapons analyst, you don’t get many,” said Kristensen upon receiving the award. “So as a newly naturalized citizen, this award is double meaningful to me.”

“When it comes to striving for a safer world, Hans Kristensen is a national treasure. He is a testament to all the ways immigrants make our country great. FAS and the United States are lucky to have him,” FAS President Ali Nouri said about Kristensen. 

Gilman Louie, FAS Chairman and member of the US National Security Commission for Artificial Intelligence, said: “In the great tradition of the Federation of American Scientists, Hans has made the world safer by increasing public transparency on global nuclear forces and proliferation. Hans brought his exceptional analytic skills to better this country and is the embodiment of a great American and scholar, well deserving of this award.”

Rosina Bierbaum, FAS Vice Chair, former White House science advisor, and UMD Professor, said: “American science is strong because of the influx of talent and scholarship from other countries working together to improve the human condition and Hans Kristensen is the embodiment of great American science. For four decades, Hans has worked to ‘foresee and forestall’ the threat of nuclear weapons around the world. He is most deserving of this recognition.”

Joan Rohlfing, President and Chief Operating Officer of Nuclear Threat Initiative, said: “Congratulations to Hans Kristensen for this well-deserved recognition. His outstanding research, analysis and advocacy has been essential to greater public understanding and debate on reducing global nuclear threats, a critical step toward a safer world.”

Frank von Hippel, former FAS Chair and Princeton University Professor, said: “This award is richly deserved. Hans Kristensen is probably the most cited analyst in the nuclear arms control community. He and his collaborators provide authoritative and regularly updated assessments of  the nuclear weapons and ‘delivery vehicles’ of all the nuclear-weapon states and make key contributions to the literature on such subjects.”

Sharon K. Weiner, American University Associate Professor and former White House Office of Management and Budget analyst, said: “Hans Kristensen is one of the most highly regarded nuclear weapons analysts in the world, and his work serves as a constant key reference point for international efforts aimed at understanding, explaining, reducing and eliminating the threat from nuclear weapons to humankind and the planet. He is a national treasure.”

For more information about the Great Immigrant, Great American award, to see the full 2020 cohort, and past recipients, visit the Carnegie Corporation of New York’s website here.

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The demonstrations that we are witnessing across the nation are in direct response to police violence and to systemic racism that has plagued this country from its birth.

All officers responsible for the senseless killing of George Floyd — which follows a pattern of police brutality against countless other black Americans — must be fully prosecuted under the law.

Justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and other victims will be one step in a long process that is required to bring healing to the country.

The Federation of American Scientists stands with black Americans who have endured centuries of institutional racism that has contributed to everything from disproportionate negative health outcomes in the midst of a pandemic to the killing of unarmed individuals by those who are sworn to protect them.

FAS was created to promote peace and stability throughout the world. As such, we must redouble our own efforts to fight all forms of racism, and to strive for diversity and inclusiveness in our own organization and throughout our community.

Washington, DC, March 18, 2020

Today, the Federation of American Scientists, the Governance Lab at New York University Tandon School of Engineering, and the State of New Jersey  Office of Innovation launched a free interactive tool to help answer the public’s questions on COVID-19 virus in English and Spanish. 

“Ask a Scientist,” located at covid19.fas.org offers answers to questions about the nature of the virus, public health data on the outbreak, guidance on how to protect against contracting the virus, and even information for travellers. All the content is sourced from WHO, CDC, and other reliable and verified sources, researched and edited for readability and clarity by a team of scientific experts. 

“We are in the midst of what could become the greatest infectious disease outbreak of our time,” FAS President Ali Nouri says about the new collaboration. “The public deserves science-based information during this crisis and we’re proud of this partnership to provide that.” 

To use the service, a person types in a question. If they don’t find the answer they need, they can click “Ask a Scientist” and receive a researched answer by a team of FAS researchers and a crowdsourced network of vetted science experts led by the National Science Policy Network. Every answer is sourced, cited and dated to ensure accuracy and timeliness. Answers are then added to the knowledge base for the benefit of others.

“We are getting all hands on deck, and engaging a global volunteer network of scientists, journalists and other experts to lend their know how to provide rapid and accurate information that will help slow the spread of this disease and mitigate its impact,” says Professor Beth Simone Noveck, Director of the Governance Lab at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering and Chief Innovation Officer for the State of New Jersey.

In addition to providing the public with key information on COVID-19 virus, Ask a Scientist is also designed to dispel myths and disinformation on coronavirus that is circulating online and on social media. 

Ask a Scientist will also be live on the Amazon Alexa by the end of the week. Just say “Alexa, Ask a Scientist” followed by your COVID-19 questions to access the service by voice. 

To visit Ask a Scientist, click here.

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