Seventeen Rutgers faculty, including seven from the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS), are among 70 leading scientists, including several Nobel Laureates and nuclear disarmament advocates, to sign an open letter in Science that opposes U.S. resumption of nuclear weapons testing.
The letter, “Uphold the nuclear weapons test moratorium,” opposes the resumption of nuclear weapons testing, which is considered an arms race accelerator and an environmental threat. It also calls for Senate ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and passage of Senator Edward J. Markey’s PLANET Act (S.3886), which would prohibit the renewal of such testing.
The seven SEBS faculty signatories are Tamar Barkay (Professor of Biochemistry and Microbiology); María G. Dominguez Bello (Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology); Gerard Charles Dismukes (Distinguished Professor of Chemistry); Peter C. Kahn (Professor of Biochemistry, Department of Biochemistry & Microbiology); Max Haggblom (Distinguished Professor of Environmental and Applied Microbiology, Department of Biochemistry & Microbiology); George Pieczenik (Professor of Biochemistry and Microbiology); and Alan Robock, (Distinguished Professor of Climate Science, Department of Environmental Sciences).
The scientists and nuclear disarmament advocates composed the letter in response to signals that the U.S. may resume its nuclear weapons testing program, which was ended in 1992. For more, view July 16 2020 virtual press conference announcing the publication of the letter.
