Special Event Report: UC and Nuclear Weapons

Revisit the public debate and community discussion about UC's involvement in the US Nuclear Weapons Labs Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore, which took place on April 5, 2004, at UC Berkeley.

Debate Info in a Nutshell

Time and Location of the debate:
Monday, April 5, 2004, 12-1 PM
106 MOFFITT Library
(beneath the Free Speech Café)

Moderator:
Dr. Robert Powell, Professor,
Dept. of Political Science, UC Berkeley

Prepresenting the pro-involvement side:
Dr. Per Peterson, Chair,
Dept. of Nuclear Engineering, UC Berkeley

Prepresenting the contra-involvement side:
Dr. David Krieger, President,
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, Santa Barbara

Debate Organizer:
Dr. Urs Cipolat, Lecturer,
Interdisciplinary Studies Field, UC Berkeley
510-643 2455
cipolat@yahoo.com

• Read the Daily Cal article about the Debate (pdf).
  
  
• Download the Debate Transcript (pdf).
  
  
• Download David Krieger's OpEd (pdf).
  
  
• View the debate (Windows Media Player required - click here to download Media Player):
  - Introduction by Dr. Urs Cipolat and Dr. Robert Powell
  - Argument for Collaboration with the Labs by Dr. Per Peterson
  - Argument against Collaboration with the Labs by Dr. David Krieger
  - Rebuttal Peterson
  - Rebuttal Krieger
  - Q/A
  
  
• Speaker bios (pdf)
  
  
• Debate flyer (pdf).
  
  
• Background article (pdf) about the bidding process, published in the Oakland Tribune, April 12, 2004.
  
  
• More background articles: Daily Cal OpEd Pro Bidding (pdf) ; Daily Cal OpEd Against Bidding (pdf)
  
  
• Background Articles about Concerns at Labs about Bidding Process (pdf); potential UC-Lockheed Martin Collaboration (pdf)
  
  
• Background Articles about Lab Competition and Problems at the Labs (pdf)
  
  
• Background Article on US nuclear weapons program 2004-2008 (pdf)
  
  
• OpEd by Urs Cipolat in Daily Californian, May 4, 2004 (pdf)
• OpEd by Urs Cipolat in Daily Californian, October 22, 2004 (pdf)
  
  
• Visit the UC Academic Senate website to read a series of White Papers (pdf) dealing with the issue of UC involvement with the Labs.
  
  

Debate Background
In April and May 2004, all UC undergrads and all UC Senate faculty participated in an informal survey on whether or not the University should bid to renew its contract with the U.S. Government to run the Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories. These labs are responsible for the development and production of U.S. nuclear weapons, but have also engaged in non-proliferation projects such as the Cooperative Threat Reduction program to secure nuclear weapons and materials in the former Soviet Union.

The UC Regents encouraged the University community to engage in an open discussion about the University's involvement in the labs. The Regents' decision about whether or not to bid for the labs is expected toward the end of 2004.

In addition to the April 5 debate, the following related public events were held:

1. UC/DOE National Labs Panel Discussion, Wednesday, April 21, 7pm, I-House Auditorium
   
   Moderator: Michael Krasny
   
   Panel 1: Past, Present and Future of UC Management of the DOE National Labs
   Panel 2: Impacts of UC Management of the DOE National Labs
   
   Read Report of Panel Discussion, published in Tri-Valley Herald, April 23, 2004
   
   Organizers: Graduate students, UC Berkeley
   

• Read the Forum's Press Release.

2. Discussion at Spring Meeting of Academic Senate, Berkeley Division, April 29, 3-5pm, Sibley Auditorium, Bechtel Engineering Center

UC Berkeley's Senate faculty discussed the University's involvement in the DOE national labs towards the end of its Spring Meeting on April 29. The meeting was open to the public.

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