Honorable Christopher Yeaw
Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Arms Control and Nonproliferation
U.S. Department of State
Dr. Christopher T. Yeaw is the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Arms Control and Nonproliferation at the U.S. Department of State. Dr. Yeaw leads U.S. efforts to prevent, impede and roll back the spread of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, their delivery systems, destabilizing advanced conventional weapons, as well as related materials and technologies. His work also includes protecting and promoting U.S. technological leadership through export controls and expanding the peaceful uses of U.S. nuclear technology. At the same time, Dr. Yeaw leads the Bureau’s focus on increasing global stability, reducing the risk of unintentional escalation and preventing conflict through our deterrence posture, by negotiating nuclear arms control agreements, and strengthening bans on chemical and biological weapons.
Dr. Yeaw was most recently the Associate Executive Director at the National Strategic Research Institute (NSRI), U.S. Strategic Command’s University Affiliated Research Center. Immediately prior to his appointment at NSRI, Dr. Yeaw was the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Senior Policy Advisor for Defense Programs, having served as the Department of Energy’s (DOE) lead official in the development and rollout of the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review. Formerly, he was the founder and director of the Center for Assurance, Deterrence, Escalation, and Nonproliferation Science & Education (CADENSE), a nuclear weapons think tank at the Louisiana Tech Research Institute. Immediately prior to establishing CADENSE, Dr. Yeaw served in an Air Force senior executive role as the first Chief Scientist of Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC), Barksdale Air Force Base, LA.
Dr. Yeaw began his career in 1996 at the Naval Surface Warfare Center as a lead missile defense engineer following his graduation with a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering and engineering physics from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He served as a lead nuclear weapons technical intelligence officer with the Defense Intelligence Agency, then held a variety of assignments with the State Department. His tenure at the State Department culminated in serving as Principal Adviser for Nuclear Matters to the Assistant Secretary for Verification and Compliance, during which time he was a member of the first special diplomatic mission to Libya and led the initiation of the dismantlement of its covert nuclear weapons program. He then served as an acting Director and Chief Scientist of the Department of Energy’s Office of Intelligence. Prior to his AFGSC’s assignment, he was an Associate Professor and Director of the Mahan Scholars Research Program at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I. where he also founded the STRATCOM-sponsored Deterrence and Escalation Game and Review (DEGRE) nuclear war game series.
Dr. Yeaw was most recently the Associate Executive Director at the National Strategic Research Institute (NSRI), U.S. Strategic Command’s University Affiliated Research Center. Immediately prior to his appointment at NSRI, Dr. Yeaw was the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Senior Policy Advisor for Defense Programs, having served as the Department of Energy’s (DOE) lead official in the development and rollout of the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review. Formerly, he was the founder and director of the Center for Assurance, Deterrence, Escalation, and Nonproliferation Science & Education (CADENSE), a nuclear weapons think tank at the Louisiana Tech Research Institute. Immediately prior to establishing CADENSE, Dr. Yeaw served in an Air Force senior executive role as the first Chief Scientist of Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC), Barksdale Air Force Base, LA.
Dr. Yeaw began his career in 1996 at the Naval Surface Warfare Center as a lead missile defense engineer following his graduation with a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering and engineering physics from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He served as a lead nuclear weapons technical intelligence officer with the Defense Intelligence Agency, then held a variety of assignments with the State Department. His tenure at the State Department culminated in serving as Principal Adviser for Nuclear Matters to the Assistant Secretary for Verification and Compliance, during which time he was a member of the first special diplomatic mission to Libya and led the initiation of the dismantlement of its covert nuclear weapons program. He then served as an acting Director and Chief Scientist of the Department of Energy’s Office of Intelligence. Prior to his AFGSC’s assignment, he was an Associate Professor and Director of the Mahan Scholars Research Program at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I. where he also founded the STRATCOM-sponsored Deterrence and Escalation Game and Review (DEGRE) nuclear war game series.