
Frank von Hippel

Phone: (609) 258-4695
Fax: (609) 258-3661
E-mail: fvhippel@princeton.edu
Von Hippel's areas of policy research include nuclear arms control and nonproliferation, energy, and checks and balances in policymaking for technology. Prior to coming to Princeton, he worked for ten years in the field of elementary-particle theoretical physics. He has written extensively on the technical basis for nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament initiatives, the future of nuclear energy, and improved automobile fuel economy. He won a 1993 MacArthur fellowship in recognition of his outstanding contributions to his fields of research. During 1993–1994, he served as assistant director for national security in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Von Hippel holds a DPhil in Theoretical Physics from Oxford, 1962 and a BS from M.I.T., 1959.
Selected Publications
Palomares-AFSM2002.pdf
- Unmaking the Bomb: A Fissile Material Approach to Nuclear Disarmament and Nonproliferation (MIT Press, 2014) with Harold A. Feiveson, Alexander Glaser and Zia Mian
- Citizen Scientist, New York: American Institute of Physics, Masters of Modern Physics series, 1991; New York; Simon and Schuster [paperback], 1991, 285 pp.
- Reversing the Arms Race: How to Achieve and Verify Deep Reductions in Nuclear Weapons, co-editor with Roald Z. Sagdeev. New York: Gordon and Breach Science Publishers, 1990, 432 pp
- The Nuclear Turning Point: A Blueprint for Deep Cuts and De-alerting of Nuclear Weapons,(with Harold A. Feiveson, Bruce G. Blair, Jonathan Dean, Steve Fetter, James Goodby, George N. Lewis, Janne E. Nolan, and Theodore Postol), Brookings Institution Press, 1999, 402 pp.
- Advice and Dissent, Scientists in the Political Arena, (with J. Primack). New York: Basic Books, 1974; Meridian-New American Library, 1976, 299 pp. Received American Physical Society Forum Award for Promoting the Understanding of the Relationship of Physics and Society (1977).
Advice and Dissent Sections:
Contents and Preface
Part 1 - Background
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Chapter 2 - The Supersonic Transport A Case History
Part II Advising or Legitimizing
Chapter 3 - Uses and Limitations of Science Advisors
Chapter 4 - Not the whole truth Advisory reports on the Supersonic Transport
Chapter 5 - Invoking the Experts The Antiballistic Missile Debate
Chapter 6 - Studies as an Excuse for Inaction The Saga of 245-T
Chapter 7 - The Politician's Helper Legitimizing the Cyclamates Decision
Part III - Responsibilities of Science Advisors in a Democracy
Chapter 8 - The Advisor's Dilemma
Chapter 9 - Toward an Open Advisory System
Part IV - The People's Science Advisors - Can Outsiders be Effective
Chapter 10 - The Battle Over Persistent Pesticides From Rachel Carson
Chapter 11 - Matthew Meselson and United States Policy on Chemical and BW
Chapter 12 - Watching the Federal Government in Colorado
Chapter 13 - Stopping Sentinel
Chapter 14 - Public Interest Science in the University The Stanford Workshops
Chapter 15 - Challenging the Atomic Energy Commission The Union of Concerned Scientists
Part V - Public Interest Science
Chapter 16 - When Outsiders Can Be Effective
Chapter 17 - Organizing for Public Interest Science
Chapter 18 - Congress and Technology
Part VI - Conclusion
Chapter 19 The Choice for Scientists and Society
Appendix - A Summary of Science Advisory Organizations
Index
Recent Articles, Chapters and Reports
- Nuclear Weapon Dangers and Policy Options, Physics Today, April 2018, page 32. The article may also be found at https://doi.org/10.1063/PT.3.3896
- Program on Science and Global Security Working Paper, December 7, 2017: Assessment of the U.S. Air Force’s estimates of the radiation doses received by the veterans of the cleanup of plutonium from two nuclear bombs that fell on Palomares, Spain in 1966
- Nuclear safety regulation in the post-Fukushima era, Science, 26 May, 2017, Vol. 356, pp. 808-809 with Edwin Lyman and Michael Schoeppner.
- Sakharov, Gorbachev, and nuclear reductions, Physics Today, April 2017, pp.49-54
- The Feasibility of Ending HEU Fuel Use in the U.S. Navy, Arms Control Today, November 2016, pp. 15-22 (with Sebastien Philippe)
- Banning the Production of Highly Enriched Uranium, International Panel on Fissile Materials, March 2016
- Lessons Learned from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident for Improving Safety and Security of U.S. Nuclear Power Plants: Phase 2, National Academies Press, May 2016 (with 16 others)
- Reducing the Danger from Fires in Spent Fuel Pools, Science and Global Security. Vol. 24 (2016) pp. 141-173 (with Michael Schoeppner)
- After the Iran deal: Multinational enrichment, Science, Vol 348, Issue 6241, 19 June 2015, pp. 1320-1322 (with Alex Glaser and Zia Mian)
- Alternatives to MOX (International Panel on Fissile Materials Research Report 13, April 2015, with Gordon MacKerron)
- A Win-Win Solution for Iran's Arak Reactor, Arms Control Today, April 2014, pp. 8-13 (with Ali Ahmad, Alexander Glaser and Zia Mian)
- Ending reprocessing in Japan: An Alternative approach to managing Japan's spent nuclear fuel and separated plutonium (International Panel on Fissile Materials Research Report #11, 2013, with Masafumi Takubo)
- Fissile Material Controls in the Middle East: Steps toward a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and all other Weapons of Mass Destruction (International Panel on Fissile Materials Research Report #11, 2013, with Harold Feiveson, Emad Kiyaei, Zia Mian and Seyed Hossein Mousavian)
- "Gorbachev's Unofficial Arms-Control Advisers" by Frank von Hippel, Physics Today, September, 2013.
- Frank von Hippel Interview with the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), May 2012
- "It Could Happen Here" by Frank von Hippel, Oped, New York Times, March 23, 2011.
- "Second Chances: Containment of a reactor meltdown" by Frank von Hippel, Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, March 17, 2011.
- James Franck: Science and conscience by Frank N. von Hippel, Physics Today, May 2010.
- Complete Cutoff: Designing a Comprehensive Fissile Material Treaty by Arend Meerburg and Frank N. von Hippel, Arms Control Today, March 2009.
- Rethinking Nuclear Fuel Recycling, Scientific American, May 2008, pp. 88-93.
- Reprocessing Revisited: The International Dimensions of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership by Edwin Lyman and Frank N. von Hippel, Armes Control Today, April 2008.
- Toward True Security: A US Nuclear Posture for the Next Decade, (with 15 others, Federation of American Scientists, Natural Resources Defense Council, Union of Concerned Scientists, 2008), 37 pp.
- "Thwarting nuclear terrorism" by Alex Glaser and Frank von Hippel, Scientific American, February 2006, pp. 56-63.
- The Safety of Stored Spent Power-Reactor Fuel - a link to the article, "Reducing the Hazards from Stored Spent Power-Reactor Fuel in the United States," to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's critique of the article and to the authors' response.
- Feasibility of Eliminating the Use of Highly Enriched Uranium in the Production of Medical Radioisotopes - (with Laura H. Kahn), Science & Global Security, Vol. 14, pp. 151-162, 2006.
- A Technical Analysis: Deconstructing North Korea's October 9 Nuclear Test, - (with Richard Garwin), Arms Control Today, November 2006
- GNEP and the U.S. Spent Fuel Problem, - Congressional Staff Briefing, March 24, 2008, Washington, D.C.
- Global Cleanout: Reducing the Threat of HEU-Fueled Nuclear Terrorism, - (with Alexander Glaser), Arms Control Today, January/February, 2006.
- Limited Proliferation-Resistance Benefits from Recycling Unseparated Transuranics and Lanthanides from Light-Water Reactor Spent Fuel, - (with Jungmin Kang), Science & Global Security, Vol. 13, No. 3, (2005), pp. 169-181.
- Is U.S. Reprocessing Worth the Risk?- (with Steve Fetter), Arms Control Today, September 2005, Vol. 35, No. 7. (For information on tables available for this article, please contact aca@armscontrol.org.)
- A Comprehensive Approach to Elimination of Highly-Enriched-Uranium from All Nuclear-Reactor Fuel Cycles, Science & Global Security, Vol. 12, No. 3, (2004), pp. 137-165.
- Damages from a Major Release of 137Cs into the Atmosphere of the United States, - (with Jan Beyea and Ed Lyman) Science & Global Security, Vol. 12 No. 1-2, (2004), pp. 125-136. Addendum to "Reducing the Hazards from Stored Spent Power-Reactor Fuel in the United States," by R. Alvarez, J. Beyea, K. Janberg, J. Kang, E. Lyman, A. Macfarlane, G. Thompson and F. von Hippel, Science & Global Security, Vol. 11, (2003), pp. 1-51.
- Does the United States Need a New Plutonium-Pit Facility? - (with Steve Fetter), Arms Control Today, May 2004.
- Nuclear Power Plant Emergencies and Thyroid Cancer Risk, - (with Laura Kahn), New Jersey Medicine, April 2004, Vol. 101, No. 4.
- Reducing the Hazards from Stored Spent Power-Reactor Fuel in the United States, (with Robert Alvarez, Jan Beyea, Klaus Janberg, Jungmin Kang, Ed Lyman, Allison MacFarlane, Gordon Thompson), Science & Global Security, Vol. 11 No. 1, (2003), pp. 1-51.
- Working in the White House on Nuclear Nonproliferation and Arms Control, by Frank von Hippel, Federation of American Scientists Public Interest Report, March/April 1995
- Nuclear Role Models, (with Zia Mian and R. Rajaraman) Washington Post Oped, August 6, 2002, p. A15.
- "Availability of Potassium Iodide for Thyroid Protection", letter to the editor, Princeton Packet, June 25, 2002; Town Topics, June 26, 2002 (with Grace Sinden, Laura Kahn, Vrunda Patel, Johathan Spergel and Kurt Stenn).
- Storage Mox: A Third Way For Plutonium Disposal? (with J. Kang, A. Macfarlane, and R. Nelson), Science & Global Security, Vol. 10, No. 2, (2002), pp. 85-101.
- Hot Archives: Transcript of Fragments of a Conversation with Academician Andrei Sakharov (with Jeremy Stone), Novaya Zhizn (New Life) 2, March 28, 2002, pp. 8-9, (secretly transcribed by the KGB, from the files of Mikhail Gorbachev).
- A Brief For Power and Against Weapons, book review of Megawatts and Megatons A Turning Point in the Nuclear Age? by Richard L. Garwin and Georges Charpak, Science, 295, January 25, 2002, p. 632.
- Plutonium and Reprocessing of Spent Nuclear Fuel, Science, Vol. 293, # 5539, 28 September 2001, pp. 2397-2398.
- Where Fermi Stood, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Vol. 57, September/October, 2001, pp. 26-29.
- U232 and the Proliferation-Resistance of U233 in Spent Fuel, (with Jungmin Kang), Science & Global Security, Vol. 9, No. 1, (2001), pp. 1-32.
- Preface, Russian Strategic Nuclear Weapons, Pavel Podvig, ed, (MIT Press, 2001), pp. xv-xviii.
- Depleted Uranium not a High Priority for the Anti-Nuclear Movement, (with Steven Fetter), Medicine and Survival, Vol. 7, March 2001, pp. 46-47.
- Ending the Production of Highly-Enriched Uranium for Naval Reactors, (with Ma Chunyan) Nonproliferation Review, 8 (2001), pp. 86-101.
- Saga of the Siberian Plutonium-Production Reactors (with Matthew Bunn) Federation of American Scientists Public Interest Report, 53, November/December 2000.
- Help the Nuclear Cities, Help Ourselves, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 56, November/December 2000, pp. 21-23.
- Conversion and Job Creation in Russia's Closed Nuclear Cities, (with Oleg Bukharin and Sharon K. Weiner), Center for International Studies/Center for Energy and Environmental Studies Report, November 2000, 81 pp.
- "To Reprocess or Not: Security Implications in Proceedings of the Workshop on Management and Disposal of Nuclear Waste", Beijing, September 1999, Yih-yun Hsu and Wang Rui-Ping, eds, (Institute for Global Chinese Affairs, University of Maryland, 2000), E23-35.
- A Longer Nuclear Fuse, Oped Washington Post (with Bruce Blair, 2nd author), June 6, 2000 ; A27.
- Using Commercial Imaging Satellites to Detect the Operation of Plutonium-Production Reactors and Gaseous-Diffusion Plants, (with Hui Zhang) Science & Global Security, Vol. 8, (2000), pp. 261-313.
- Radiation Risk and Ethics: Health Hazards, Prevention Costs, and Radiophobia, letter to the editor, Physics Today, Vol. 53, April 2000, p. 11.
- Helping Russia Downsize its Nuclear Complex: A Focus on the Closed Nuclear Cities (with Oleg Bukharin, Harold Feiveson and Sharon Weiner; Matthew Bunn, William Hoehn and Kenneth Luongo), Center for International Studies/Center for Energy and Environmental Studies Report, June 2000, 53 pp.
- "Missile Defense -- A Dangerous Move," by Phillip Bleek and Frank von Hippel, Washington Post, "Outlook" Section, Sunday, December 12, 1999, page B09 (reprinted in the International Herald Tribune, Dec. 23, 1999, p. 8 as "A Missile Defense System Isn't What America Needs).
- "False Fears About a Test Ban," by Ray Kidder, Lynn Sykes and Frank von Hippel, Washington Post, Outlook Section, Sunday, October 10, 1999; Page B07.
- "Getting Back to Basics: Controlling Fissile Materials," in Twenty-first Century Weapons Proliferation, Henry Sokolski and James M. Ludes, eds. (London: Frank Cass, 2001), pp. 84-96.
- The Hazard Posed by Depleted Uranium Munitions, (with Steve Fetter), Science & Global Security, Vol. 8, (2000), pp. 125-161.
- "The FMCT and Cuts in Fissile Material Stockpiles," by Frank von Hippel, UNIDIR Disarmament Forum, Spring 1999 (to be published)
- "U.S. Tritium Production Plan Lacks Strategic Rationale," by Charles Ferguson and Frank von Hippel, Defense News, December 7–13, 1998, p. 29.
- "Task Force Should Look at Other Nuclear-Deterrent Options," by Charles Ferguson and Frank von Hippel, Washington Times, Dec. 16, 1998, p. 18.
- "The Question of Pure Fusion Explosions Under the CTBT," by Suzanne Jones, Ray Kidder and Frank von Hippel, Physics Today, September 1998, pp. 129-150.
- "The Question of Pure Fusion Explosions Under the CTBT," by Suzanne Jones and Frank von Hippel, Science & Global Security, 7 (1998), pp. 1–22.
- "De-Alerting Russian and American Nuclear Missiles," by Bruce Blair, Harold Feiveson and Frank von Hippel, UNIDIR Newsletter, No 38 (1998) Special issue: "Nuclear De-alerting: Taking a Step Back," pp. 19–22.
- "How to Simplify the Plutonium Problem," by Frank von Hippel, Nature, 394, July 30, 1998, pp. 415–16
- "Retooling Russia's Nuclear Cities," by Oleg Bukharin, Matthew Bunn, Jill Cetina, Ken Luongo and Frank von Hippel, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 54, September/October 1998, pp. 44–50.
- "The Alternative to Nuclear Tests," by Zia Mian and Frank von Hippel, Washington Post, Sunday, May 31, 1998, p. C-7.
- "Redoubling Nuclear Weapons Reduction Without Weakening Deterrence," by Bruce Blair, Harold Feiveson and Frank von Hippel, Washington Post (Oped), November 12, 1997, A23.
- "Taking Nuclear Weapons off Hair-Trigger Alert," by Bruce Blair, Harold Feiveson and Frank von Hippel, Scientific American, 277, #5, November 1997, pp. 74–81.
- "The Slow Death of the Fast [Plutonium] Breeder [Reactor]," by Frank von Hippel and Suzanne Jones, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 53, #5, September/October 1997, pp. 46–51.
- "The Convergence of Nuclear Arms Control and Nuclear Materials Management," Keynote address, Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management, Phoenix, Arizona, July 21, 1997.
- "Usability of Reactor-grade Plutonium in Nuclear Weapons: A Reply to Alex DeVolpi," by Marvin Miller and Frank von Hippel, Physics & Society, 26, #3 (July 1997), pp. 10–11.
- "Transparency Measures for Subcritical Experiments Under the CTBT," by Suzanne Jones and Frank von Hippel, Science & Global Security, 6 (1997) pp. 291–310.
- "Paring Down the Arsenal," by Frank von Hippel, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 53, May/June 1997, pp. 33–40.
- U.S.-Russian Cooperation on Fissile Material Security and Disposition, (with Oleg Bukharin), in The Weapons Legacy of the Cold War: Problems and Opportunities, Dietrich Schroeer and Alessandro Pascolini, eds. (Brookfield, VT: Ashgate, 1997), pp. 51–66.
- The Last 15 Minutes: Ballistic Missile Defense in Perspective (Washington, DC: Coalition to Reduce Nuclear Dangers, 1996) with Joseph Cirincione
Boards, Committees, Editorships:
Awards and Honors
- American Association for the Advancement of Science, Hilliard Roderick Prize in Science, Arms Control and International Security, 1994
- MacArthur Prize Fellow, 1993–1998
- Dorothy Eldridge Award, New Jersey Sane/Freeze, 1993
- Advisory Professor, Fudan University, Shanghai, 1992
- Einstein lecture, New York Academy of Sciences, 1989
- Federation of American Scientists, Public Service Award, 1989
- Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1988-
- Fellow, American Physical Society, 1984-
- American Physical Society Forum Award for Promoting the Understanding of the Relationship of Physics and Society, 1977 (with Joel Primack)
- National Academy of Science Resident Fellowship, 1973–74
- A.P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship, 1969–70
- Rhodes Scholarship, 1959–62
Selected Offices, Commitees, etc.
- Panel on Public Affairs, American Physical Society, Vice Chair, chair-elect and chair (2003, 2004, and 2005)
- Federation of American Scientists: Chairman, FAS Fund (the tax-exempt research arm of the F.A.S., 1986–93, 95–): Vice Chairman (1984–86); Elected Chairman of the F.A.S. (1979–84), Council Member (l975–84),Director, Cooperative Research Project on Nuclear Disarmament and Nonproliferation (1987–93, 95–)
- Science and Global Security, Chairman, US Editorial Board, (1989–)
- Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Chairman, Editorial Board, (1991–93); Board of Directors (1983–86), Editorial Board (1975–83, 96–)
- Board of Directors, Student Pugwash, USA (1998–2001)
- Member, External Review Board, Nonproliferation and International Security Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, 1995-2001
- Board of Directors, Arms Control Association (1996–2001)
- Ploughshares Fund (Advisory Committee, 1990–93, 95–)
- Center for Arms Control, Energy and Environmental Studies, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (Board of Directors, 1990–93, 95–)
- Princeton University, Council on Science and Technology (1992–93); University Research Board (1988–92); Interdepartmental Committee for the Program in Engineering and Management Systems (1990–93, 95–97);Coordinating Committee, Center for Energy and Environmental Studies (CEES, 1974-93, 95-); Acting Director CEES (1997–8); Woodrow Wilson School: Undergraduate Program Committee (1984–93, 95–96, 98–); MPA Program Committee (1990–93, 97–98); Director, Science, Technology and Public Policy Program (1984–93, 97–98), member, Coordinating Committee (95–97, 98–), Acting Director (97–98); PhD Committee (1988–93, 95–98)
- Advisor to the Director, Office of Nonproliferation and Arms Control, U.S. Department of Energy (1995–7)
- Member, Weapons Usable Fissile Materials Disposition Task Force, Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (1996)
- External Reviewer, Department of Energy Study on "The National Ignition Facility and the Issue of Nonproliferation," August 1995.
- Member, Advisory Committee, Social Science Research Council, Peace and Security Fellowship and Workshop Program (1995–97)