Bulletin names Noah Mayhew 2021 Leonard M. Rieser Award recipient 

Noah Mayhew, a research associate at the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, was selected as the 2021 recipient of the Bulletin’s Leonard M. Rieser award. Mayhew, who focuses on nuclear arms control and IAEA safeguards, was selected for his July 8, 2021, article “A millennial’s view: ICBMs are ridiculous.”

“Noah Mayhew’s piece brings a thoughtful generational analysis to the debate over the cost and strategic value of one leg of the US nuclear triad, land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles,” said John Mecklin, the Bulletin’s editor in chief. “This is a powerful piece that speaks to and for a younger generation and is therefore exactly the kind of work the Rieser Award means to encourage.” 

The Rieser Award, named for former Bulletin board chair Leonard M. Rieser, is the capstone of the non-profit’s Next Generation Program. That program was created to ensure new voices have a trusted platform from which to address existential challenges posed by nuclear proliferation, climate change, and disruptive technologies. The Bulletin’s NextGen program includes the “Voices of Tomorrow” column where Mayhew’s article appeared.

The award includes a $1,000 prize and the opportunity to speak at the Bulletin’s marquee event: Conversations Before Midnight. 

Mayhew has interned at the International Atomic Energy Agency and has been a graduate research assistant at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies and the Monterey Initiative in Russian Studies. In addition to the Bulletin, he has been published in Arms Control Today, Inkstick Media, PassBlue and Nonproliferation Review. 

He holds master’s degrees in nonproliferation and terrorism studies from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, California, and in international relations from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. Mayhew received his bachelor’s degree in public relations from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. 

Rieser was the Bulletin’s Board Chair from 1984 until his death in 1998. He was a graduate student at the University of Chicago when he worked on the Manhattan Project and went on to a distinguished academic career as a professor and provost of Dartmouth College. Rieser championed emerging scientists and policy leaders and believed in their ability to play a critical role in the resolution of persistent global security problems. We continue to work with his family, and other longtime friends and donors, to extend his legacy.  

About the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Founded in 1945 by Manhattan Project scientists, the Bulletin equips the public, policymakers, and scientists with the information needed to reduce man-made threats to human existence. At its core, it is a media organization, posting free articles on its website and publishing a premium digital magazine. The Bulletin focuses on three main areas: nuclear risk, climate change, and disruptive technologies.  Learn more at TheBulletin.org.