by Lyle Seeligson, Policy Intern, Summer 2026
My first conversation about nuclear weapons was with my mother.
It was 2008; I had just turned ten years old. She explained that we were in a war in a place called Iraq. She told me how the war had been started because we thought Iraq had dangerous weapons. She said I shouldn’t worry, though — those weapons would never reach us at home.
I appreciate my mom’s fudging of the nuclear threat. No child should ever have to worry about nuclear weapons. However, as I got older, this sheltering and glossing over the very real threat of nuclear war became an ongoing theme. In school, our lessons about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, U.S. and Soviet nuclear build-up during the Cold War, and close calls like the Cuban Missile Crisis, presented these terrifying events as purely historical ones — something to analyze and discuss, but not really salient areas of concern in our twenty-first-century lives. Nuclear weapons were an issue, but one that was far away — physically, temporally and emotionally.
I’m both happy and sad to say that my perspective on this issue has become much more personal, especially after my internship with the Center this summer. Happy, because I have learned more. As a graduate student and as a person, having a more accurate and informed understanding of the world is always my goal.
Sad, because I have learned more — and what I have learned scares me.
However, even as my understanding of the ever-present and deepening dangers of nuclear proliferation, nuclear material security and terrorism has grown, so has my trust in those within the nuclear non-proliferation space who work every day to reduce these threats and make our world safer. My colleagues at the Center have demonstrated a deep passion for these issues and solving these overwhelming problems, tirelessly coming back every day to speak with legislators and congressional staffers, educate the public and connect with other advocates. I was blown away not only by each person’s individual deep well of knowledge on these issues, but also everyone’s patience and kindness towards me as I entered this field. I’m not sure I ever expected working in the non-proliferation space and talking daily about nuclear weapons to be a particularly fun endeavor, but the people working at the Center somehow made that possible.
They also gave me generous leeway to explore the areas in this field that personally excite me, particularly nuclear energy and nuclear material security. As an energy and public policy student working and studying amongst those focused on decarbonization and climate change, I have frequently heard different ideas thrown around about nuclear energy, especially in light of the ongoing “nuclear renaissance” and excitement around small modular reactors. More often than not, these debates fall into two camps: the decarbonization advocates who see nuclear energy as a necessary tool in moving away from fossil fuels, and the environmentalists concerned with the ecosystem and human health risks of radioactive waste and nuclear accidents. Rarely, if ever, have I heard about the threat of nuclear weapons proliferation in these conversations.
The Center has fundamentally changed the way I now approach these conversations.
The Center has fundamentally changed the way I now approach these conversations. In class, I had previously learned about different considerations for our energy future: what technologies are available, the financial risks and benefits involved, and which policies can help enable growth in different sectors at home and abroad. Over this summer, I’ve had the opportunity to research and write about nuclear power, and how different considerations for nuclear exports and fuel production can increase or decrease risk for non-proliferation and terrorism. Along the way, the staff at the Center have sat and brainstormed with me, pointed me to valuable resources, and offered insightful edits to better refine my work and understanding of these issues. At the end of my internship, I am leaving with a whole new issues list to consider when thinking about nuclear energy’s future, at the top of which is a seemingly straightforward (yet vexingly complex) question — can this technology, policy, or agreement enable the creation of the world’s most dangerous weapons?
My time at the Center again and again has reinforced the message that no issue exists in a vacuum, especially one as complex as nuclear weapons. This field overlaps with myriad other topics, some anticipated and others surprising: national security and diplomacy, to be sure, but also energy policy, international trade, federal research funding, science communications and climate change. This summer has exposed me to important discussions around defense spending, the future of arms control agreements and the practical process of policy change.
As I head back to Texas to begin another school year, I’m grateful for the opportunity to grow and learn at the Center, and for the wonderful people here who made this such an impactful experience. I know I will bring the knowledge I’ve gained forward into my future conversations in and out of the classroom, and am excited to hopefully continue to work at the nexus of non-proliferation, nuclear energy and national security. I look forward to the time, one day, when I tell my future daughter she doesn’t need to worry about nuclear weapons, and I will be telling the truth.
