James Acton is a lecturer at the Centre for Science and Security Studies in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London. Dr Acton’s research interests focus on topics at the interface of the technical and the political, including nuclear disarmament, arms control verification and IAEA safeguards. He is co-author of the upcoming International Institute of Strategic Studies paper on nuclear disarmament.
Dr Acton’s previous research projects include analyses of IAEA safeguards in Iran, the detection of clandestine weaponization activities and novel forms of radiological terrorism. He has published in Survival and the Nonproliferation Review. He teaches MA-level courses at King’s on ‘The Science of Security’ and ‘Science, Security and Technology Policy’.
Before joining King’s, Dr Acton was the science and technology researcher at the Verification Research, Training and Information Centre (VERTIC), where he was involved in the UK-Norway dialogue on verifying the dismantlement of warheads. He holds a PhD in theoretical physics from Cambridge University’s Cavendish Laboratory, where he has worked as a research associate.