Master of Arts in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies
IPSS Assignment: Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization – Vienna, Austria
Victoria’s fascination with international studies began with spending four years of her childhood in Tokyo, Japan. Since then, she has continued to study Japanese and deepen her interest in foreign affairs.
Her academic career at MIIS has focused on nonproliferation with a particular interest in the intersection between science and international policy. In addition to working as a graduate research assistant at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, she worked at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as a Next Generation Safeguards Initiative intern, focusing on policy-related safeguards vulnerabilities as applied to spent fuel at pressurized water reactors. Prior to studying at MIIS, she was a research associate at the Space Studies Board of the National Academy of Sciences, where her work included contributing to Academies’ reports and congressional testimony. As an undergraduate at Swarthmore College, she majored in Astronomy and minored in English.
As an intern at the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), she supported the Public Information office. There she worked on a variety of projects, including updating the CTBTO website, Facebook, and twitter accounts. She also contributed to writing opinion editorials and helped determine which individuals and organizations might prove to be beneficial partnerships to the CTBTO. Her IPSS research project while at the CTBTO focused on the technical aspects and political implications of the CTBT’s On-Site Inspection regime. She particularly enjoyed working and making friends with people from all over the world and learning about how their perspectives differ from her own. Living in Vienna, Austria, was a wonderful experience for her that provided her the opportunity to travel throughout Europe.
She is currently a Nonproliferation Graduate Fellow at the Department of Energy, where she works on safeguards technology policy.
