Our Patrons

Our Patrons are:
• Lord Martin Rees OM FRS
• Dame Athene Donald DBE FRS
• Sir Timothy Gowers FRS
• Sir Brian Heap FRS
• Sir Chris Llewellyn Smith FRS
• Prof Margaret MacMillan CH
• General Sir Nick Parker KCB CBE
• Sir Hew Strachan DL FRSE FRHistS
• Prof Angela Vincent FMedSci FRS

Our Activities

Our activities include studies of science and policy issues, regular public discussion and education meetings, and engagement with politicians and government officials.

You can watch videos of our recent webinars and events on our YouTube channel. Follow British Pugwash and Student / Young Pugwash on X (Twitter) and Facebook.

Our publications include in-depth scientific and policy research, as well as newsletters, our Annual Reports and reports from conferences and events.

Our youth wing, SYP UK, is also extremely active and publishes updates on news and events here

Our Projects

Current projects include research on the ethics of armed robotic systems, the potential impact of emerging technologies on nuclear weapon systems, the climate-nuclear nexus and continued work on future energy options for the UK.

Recent projects include the WMD Awareness public education campaign and efforts to establish a British Disarmament Institute.

Membership

British Pugwash is a membership organisation that brings together scientists and others concerned with international affairs and disarmament.

We are led by our Executive Committee and receive the support of nine Patrons.

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee comprises:

• Peter Jenkins CMG (Chairman)
• Dr Ian Crossland (Treasurer)
• Dr Tim Street (Secretary)
• James Brady
• Dr Peter Collecott
• Dr David Ellwood
• Dr Mamdouh El-Shanawany
• Andrew Gibson
• Dr Richard Guthrie
• Sally Milne

Latest publications, events and news

British Pugwash Newsletter: May 2024

Items include: Upcoming Hay Festival lecture, 1 June: Professor Carlo Rovelli Annual lecture and interview: Professor Dame Athene Donald Webinar video: Dr James Acton AGM and Annual Report Student / Young Pugwash Update Recent articles and reports of interest Obituary: Kit Hill Download this newsletter as a pdf here. Upcoming Hay Festival lecture, 1 June: […]

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Video of Annual Lecture and Interview: Professor Dame Athene Donald, 9th May, 1730

Lecture title: Reflections on the legacy of Sir Joseph Rotblat in a time of nuclear risk   Speaker: Professor Dame Athene Donald Watch the video of the lecture and our interview below:   … Thursday, May 9, 5:30 – 6:30pm GMT+1 The Babbage Lecture Theatre, David Attenborough Building, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ (in person […]

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Video of Webinar with Dr James Acton, 8th April @ 6pm

On Monday 8th April at 6pm we held our latest webinar with Dr James Acton. Watch the video of the event below… We discussed rising tensions between the nuclear powers, and the prospects for a more peaceful world. In particular, we considered nuclear entanglement and escalation risks, and the impact of new technologies on nuclear […]

China’s Call for a No-First-Use Agreement

Reuters reported from Beijing on 28 February that the director general of the arms control department in the PRC foreign ministry had called for States with the largest nuclear arsenals to negotiate a treaty on no-first-use of nuclear weapons against each other, or to make political statements to that effect. The call was made during […]

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Video of SYP-UK Webinar: ‘AI and nuclear matters’, 29/03/24

Student / Young Pugwash-UK  Webinar: ‘AI and nuclear matters’ Watch the video of this webinar here:     Date / time: 29 March 2024, 14.00 GMT Description:   Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a subject of immediate and growing concern. The revolutionary potential of this technology could significantly reshape global society for good or ill. This […]

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Review of the 7th Annual SYP Conference: AI, Peace and Security

Contents:   1. Summary review of the 7th Annual SYP Conference: ‘AI: Implications for peace and security’   2. Conference materials: video / pictures / slides / presenter contact details   1. Conference Review   “Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents enormous global opportunities: it has the potential to transform and enhance human wellbeing, peace and prosperity”. […]