Sharon Weiner, associate professor in American University’s School of International Service, was named today one of the winners of the prestigious Andrew Carnegie Fellowship for her research into the political and social dimensions of American nuclear weapons policy. As a member of the 2018 class of Andrew Carnegie Fellows, Weiner and 30 other scholars and writers will each receive up to $200,000, a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

Prof. Weiner’s prize-winning project analyzes the history of U.S. decision-making to understand current policy debates about nuclear weapons and deterrence. Part of her project includes a collaboration with other researchers to develop a virtual reality experience to better understand how leaders are likely to make decisions during a nuclear crisis. 

“At a time of great global uncertainty surrounding nuclear proliferation, the U.S. is undertaking a $1.5 trillion nuclear modernization plan,” said Prof. Weiner. “I will use this generous award from the Carnegie Corporation to focus on U.S nuclear weapons policy choices, the lessons history can teach us, and emerging technology that can help us understand the problem-solving methods used by people who make incredibly consequential decisions in time of stress and uncertainty. I’m grateful for the opportunity this fellowship provides.” 

Each year, the leaders of more than 600 institutions, representing universities, think tanks, publishers, and nonprofit organizations nationwide, are invited to nominate up to two people for a Carnegie fellowships. A selection committee comprised of 17 scholars and intellectual leaders from some of the world’s leading educational institutions, foundations and scholarly societies selects the fellows on the basis of each project’s relevance to current issues, potential for meaningful impact on a field of study, and for dissemination to a broad audience. Topics of the winning proposals focused on a wide variety of complex political, economic, technological, humanistic, and sociological matters. 

“We were reassured by the immense talent and breadth of experience reflected in the proposals from this year’s nominees for the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program,” said Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie Corporation of New York and president emeritus of Brown University. “Since its founding in 1911, the Corporation has provided strong support to individual scholars, as well as a wide variety of institutions, causes, and organizations. The response to the fellows program gives me great hope for the future of the study of the humanities and the social sciences as a way for this country to learn from the past, understand the present, and devise paths to progress and peace.” 

The Andrew Carnegie Fellows program was established with the inaugural class in 2015. The anticipated result of each fellowship is a book or major academic study. The public is invited to read more about the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program, the class of 2018. Join the conversation online at #CarnegieFellows and via Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.