Mailing address
Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs
John F. Kennedy School of Government, Mailbox 134
Cambridge, MA, 02138
Hui Zhang
Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
Contact:
Telephone: 617-495-5710
Fax: 617-496-0606
Email: Hui_Zhang@harvard.edu
Experience
Hui Zhang is a Research Associate in the Project on Managing the Atom in the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. His research includes verification techniques of nuclear arms control, the control of fissile material, nuclear terrorism, China’s nuclear policy, nuclear safeguards and non-proliferation, policy of nuclear fuel cycle and reprocessing.
Before coming to the Kennedy School in September 1999, he was a post-doctoral fellow at the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies, Princeton University from 1997–1999, and in 1998–1999, he received a post-doctoral fellowship from the Social Science Research Council, a MacArthur Foundation program on International Peace and Security. From 2002-2003, he received a grant for Research and Writing from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Hui Zhang received his Ph.D. in nuclear physics in Beijing in 1996.
Dr. Zhang is the author of several technical reports and book chapters, and dozens of articles in academic journals and the print media including Science and Global Security, Bulletin of Atomic Scientists and The Non-Proliferation Review. Dr. Zhang gives many oral presentations and talks in international conferences and organizations.
April 2008
"Should and Can the FMCT Be Effectively Verified?"
Journal Article, INESAP Information Bulletin, issue 28
By Hui Zhang, Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
Hui Zhang argues that an effective universal Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty (FMCT) would make an important contribution to nuclear disarmament, the nonproliferation regime, and the prevention of nuclear terrorism. However, such a FMCT must have a credible verification regime. Dr. Zhang suggests that it should be technically feasible to establish an effectively verifiable FMCT at a reasonable cost, while protecting national security secrets.
March 2008
Russian and Chinese Responses to U.S. Military Plans in Space
Report
By Pavel Podvig and Hui Zhang, Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences called upon Pavel Podvig and Hui Zhang to consider what consequences would develop if the United States continues to pursue the weaponization of space and how China and Russia would respond, and what would be the broader implications for international security.
July 2007
"Off-Site Air Sampling Analysis And North Korean Nuclear Test"
Conference Proceedings
By Hui Zhang, Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
In this paper, Zhang explores what information could have been obtained from offsite air sampling analysis. Specifically, he examines how to use the activity ratios of xenon isotopes to identify the North Korean nuclear test and whether the off-site air sampling analysis would be able to distinguish a test from a plutonium-bomb and a HEU bomb.
July 2007
"North Korea’s Oct. 9 Nuclear Test: Successful or Failed?"
Conference Proceedings
By Hui Zhang, Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
In this paper, Zhang examined if the test was successful. Based on a technical analysis, Zhang concluded that: whether North Korea’s Oct.9 nuclear test was successful or failed would be dependent on North Korea’s designed yield. If North Korea planned a yield of 4 kt (as told to China), it would be not a failed test. It could show that North Korea already had confidence to explode a nuclear device and pursued a much more compact warhead for its missiles. Thus, it is urgent to negotiate for dismantling North Korean nuclear and long-range missile programs.
Summer 2007
"Revisiting North Korea's Nuclear Test"
Journal Article, China Security, issue 3, volume 3
By Hui Zhang, Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
Hui Zhang re-examines the North Korean explosion on October 9, 2006. His research suggests that the test was likely not a failure if Pyongyang had planned for a yield of 4 kt, as it told Beijing prior to the event.
IKONOS satellite/AFP
January / February 2007
"The North Korean Test and the Limits of Nuclear Forensics"
Magazine or Newspaper Article, Arms Control Today, (Letter to the Editor)
By Jungmin Kang, Frank N. von Hippel and Hui Zhang, Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
Hui Zhang provides a path-breaking technical assessment of the Korean nuclear test, publishing a comment (with co-authors Jungmin Kang and Frank von Hippel) on the test and the limits of nuclear forensics in Arms Control Today.
July 2006
"Discussions of Verification of a Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty"
Conference Paper
By Hui Zhang, Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
July, 2006
The LWR Provision and the North Korean Nuclear Crisis: A Chinese Perspective
Conference Paper
By Hui Zhang, Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
June, 2006
The North Korean Nuclear Crisis?Negotiating a Way Out
Journal Article, INESAP Information Bulletin, issue 26
By Hui Zhang, Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
Spring 2006
"Space Weaponization and Space Security: A Chinese Perspective"
Journal Article, China Security, issue 1, volume 2
By Hui Zhang, Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
"...China is worried about how U.S. space weaponization plans might affect Chinese national security, international security, and protection of the space environment...."
