Radiological and Nuclear Threats

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Project Title	Investigators	Project Period
Mobile Radiation Detectors: Threat Perception and Device Acceptance	Brooke Liu, Elizabet Petrun Sayers, Gary Ackerman, Steve Sin, Thomas Guarrieri	April, 2014 to April, 2019
Cargo Aviation Insider Threat Assessment Tool (CAITAT)	Thomas Guarrieri	September, 2016 to December, 2018
Dissuading Adversaries and their Radiological/Nuclear Pathways: Integrating Deterrence Theory and Analytics in the Global Nuclear Detection Architecture (GNDA)	Amy Pate, Brandon Behlendorf, Gary Ackerman, John Sawyer, Steve Sin, Hamid Mohtadi, Marcus A. Boyd	October, 2013 to September, 2018
Profiles of Incidents Involving CBRN and Non-state Actors (POICN) Database	Markus Binder	March, 2010 to June, 2018
Dynamics of Terrorism and Counterterrorism Campaigns	Gary Ackerman, Joseph Young, R. Karl Rethemeyer, Victor Asal	July, 2014 to December, 2017
Towards an Understanding of Explosive Detection Technology Adoption: Results from Two Surveys	Brooke Liu	May, 2016 to June, 2017
International and Regional Architecture Reports	Brandon Behlendorf, Emily Iarocci, Gary Ackerman, Steve Sin	May, 2012 to September, 2015
Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA) Process	John Sawyer, Steve Sin	September, 2014 to June, 2015
PRND Capability Development Framework Mapping	John Sawyer, Marcus A. Boyd	December, 2012 to June, 2015
Insider Threat for Inbound International Air Cargo	Gary Ackerman	October, 2013 to March, 2015
Failure Points in Smuggling Networks	Brandon Behlendorf	September, 2013 to March, 2015
Integration of International Architecture Analysis	Brandon Behlendorf, Emily Iarocci, Gary Ackerman, John Sawyer	September, 2013 to March, 2015
Organized and/or Transnational Crime/Drug Cartel Nexus with Illicit Radiological/Nuclear Trade, Smuggling and/or Terrorism in Europe and North, Sahelian and West Africa	Amy Pate, John Sawyer, Marcus A. Boyd, Steve Sin	September, 2013 to March, 2015
New Analytical Methods for the Exploitation of Open-Source Structured Databases to Enhance Situational Awareness for Effective Counter-WMD Strategies	Ronald Breiger, Gary Ackerman, Victor Asal, H. Brinton Milward, R. Karl Rethemeyer	March, 2010 to March, 2014
Anatomizing Radiological and Nuclear Non-State Adversaries	Gary Ackerman, Jeffrey Bale, R. Karl Rethemeyer	June, 2012 to January, 2014
Radiological/Nuclear Adversaries Future Project	Gary Ackerman, John Sawyer	October, 2012 to December, 2013
The Threat of Pakistani Criminal Organizations: Assessing the Potential for Involvement in Radiological/Nuclear Smuggling, Collaboration with Terrorist Groups and the Potential to Destabilize the Pakistani State	Amy Pate, Gary Ackerman	April, 2012 to July, 2012
Global Nuclear Detection Architecture: A Study of South Asia	Sharad Joshi	October, 2008 to September, 2009
More Bang for the Buck?: Examining the Effect of Technological Change on Terrorist Use of Weapons of Mass Destruction	Gary Ackerman, Jeffrey Bale	July, 2005 to September, 2009
Distinctive Characteristics of Terrorist Groups	Gary LaFree, Laura Dugan	January, 2005 to June, 2009
Terrorist Groups and Weapons of Mass Destruction	Gary Ackerman, Jonathan Wilkenfeld, R. Karl Rethemeyer, Victor Asal	July, 2005 to May, 2008

Project Title	Publication Date	START Authors	Publication Type
Testimony Before United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Hearing on Nuclear Terrorism: Assessing the Threat to the Homeland	April 2008	Ackerman, Gary	Congressional Testimony
Jihadists and Weapons of Mass Destruction	November 2008	Ackerman, Gary	Book
Islamist Use and Pursuit of CBRN Terrorism	November 2008	Rethemeyer, R. Karl	Book Chapter
Defining Knowledge Gaps Within CBRN Terrorism Research	January 2009	Ackerman, Gary	Book Chapter
Winning with the Bomb	April 2009	Asal, Victor	Journal Article
Risk Analysis of Chemical, Biological, or Radionuclear Threats: Implications for Food Security	June 2009	Mohtadi, Hamid	Journal Article
Nuclear Weapons as Shields	July 2009	Asal, Victor	Journal Article
Profiling the WMD Terrorism Threat	August 2009	Ackerman, Gary; Bale, Jeffrey	Book Chapter
Connections Can Be Toxic: Terrorist Organizational Factors and the Pursuit of CBRN Weapons	February 2012	Ackerman, Gary; Rethemeyer, R. Karl; Asal, Victor	Journal Article
The “New” Face of Transnational Crime Organizations (TCOs): A Geopolitical Perspective and Implications to U.S. National Security	May 2013	Pate, Amy; Ackerman, Gary; Johns, Mila	White Paper
Gauging the Threat	August 2013	Ackerman, Gary; Pinson, Lauren	Journal Article
Transnational Illicit Trafficking (TransIT) Geospatial Tool: Project Fact Sheet	September 2013	Sawyer, John	Project Fact Sheet
An Army of One: Assessing CBRN Pursuit and Use by Lone Wolves and Autonomous Cells	January 2014	Ackerman, Gary; Pinson, Lauren	Journal Article
Nuclear Weapons and Existential Threats: Insights from a Comparative Analysis of Nuclear-Armed States	October 2014	Asal, Victor	Journal Article
Jihadists and WMD: a re-evaluation of the future threat	October 2014	Ackerman, Gary	Journal Article
Developing Consensus on Strengthening Article X(1) of the NPT	February 2015	Murauskaite, Egle	Research Brief
Countering Nuclear and Radiological Materials Illicit Trafficking Through Maritime Security Initiatives: Paper Tiger or Concrete Solution? A Case Study	May 2015	Sin, Steve	Conference Paper
Terrorism Trends with a Focus on Energy and Mining	June 2015	Pate, Amy	Research Brief
Federal Funding for Health Security in FY2016	June 2015	Sell, Tara	Journal Article
CBRN Activity and Attacks by Insurgent Organizations	October 2015	Ackerman, Gary; Rethemeyer, R. Karl; Asal, Victor	Research Brief
Insider Threat for Inbound International Air Cargo	October 2015	Matuzsan, Gabrielle; Ackerman, Gary; Tinsley, Herbert; Jacome, Michelle	Research Brief
The Trust Paradox in Nuclear Smuggling	December 2015	Murauskaite, Egle	Journal Article
Searching for the Nuclear Silk Road: Geospatial Analysis of Potential Illicit Radiological and Nuclear Material Trafficking Pathways	January 2016	Boyd, Marcus A.; Sin, Steve	Book Chapter
Attacking Nuclear Facilities: Hype or Genuine Threat?	January 2016	Ackerman, Gary	Book Chapter
Aum Shinrikyo’s Nuclear and Chemical Weapons Development Efforts	March 2016		Journal Article
Transnational Illicit Trafficking (TransIT) Geospatial Tool	March 2016	Boyd, Marcus A.; Sin, Steve	Project Fact Sheet
Radiological/Nuclear Detection Capability Development Framework Mapping Tool	March 2016	Boyd, Marcus; Sin, Steve	Project Fact Sheet
Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA) Process: Assessing RN Threat Inclusion	March 2016	Spalding, Sarah; Sin, Steve; Sell, Tara Kirk	Research Brief
From Factors to Actors: Enhancing the Reliability of CBRN Analysis	April 2016	Ackerman, Gary; Pinson, Lauren; Breiger, Ronald	Journal Article
Diffusing Portable Radiation Detectors Among First Responders: Device Acceptance and Implications for Community Resilience	August 2016	Liu, Brooke; Petrun Sayers, Elizabeth; Ackerman, Gary; Roberts, Holly; Iles, Irina A.	Book Chapter
START Annual Meeting 2016: Quick-Fire Presentation - Unconventional Weapons and Technology, Political Instability, Risk Communication	October 2016	Ackerman, Gary; LaFree, Gary; Roberts, Holly; Binder, Markus; Egnoto, Michael; Sin, Steve	Presentation
Maritime Security Initiatives: A Paper Tiger or a Concrete Solution?	November 2016	Sin, Steve	Journal Article
Nuclear Smuggling and Threats to Lithuanian Security	December 2016	Murauskaite, Egle	Journal Article
Understanding the Adoption Process of National Security Technology: An Integration of Diffusion of Innovations and Volitional Behavior Theories	February 2017	Liu, Brooke; Ackerman, Gary; Roberts, Holly; Iles, Irina A.; Egnoto, Michael	Journal Article
Application of a Profile Similarity Methodology for Identifying Terrorist Groups That Use or Pursue CBRN Weapons	September 2017	Ackerman, Gary; Milward, H. Brinton; Rethemeyer, R. Karl; Breiger, Ronald; Asal, Victor	Book Chapter
Motivations, Mechanisms and Determinants of Terrorist Technology Transfer	October 2017	Ackerman, Gary; Earnhardt, Rebecca (Becca)	Research Brief
Nuclear Matters: Lithuanian Security Culture in the Context of NATO Trends	January 2018	Murauskaite, Egle	Journal Article
How Prepared Are the Public and Responders for Nuclear Terrorism?	February 2018	Schoch-Spana, Monica	Journal Article
Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Terrorism	April 2018	Ackerman, Gary	Book Chapter
WMD Terrorism: The Once and Future Threat	May 2018	Ackerman, Gary; Jacome, Michelle	Journal Article
Unconventional Weapons and Technology (UWT) Research Division	October 2018		Project Fact Sheet
Dissuading Adversaries and Their RN Pathways: Integrating Deterrence Theory and Analytics in the GNDA	November 2018	Sin, Steve	Research Brief
Pick Your POICN: Introducing the Profiles of Incidents involving CBRN and Non-State Actors (POICN) Database	March 2019	Ackerman, Gary; Binder, Markus	Journal Article
How terrorist actors in Pakistan use nuclear weapons for political influence	March 2019	Joshi, Sharad	Journal Article
Back to the Future: Teaching about the End of the World	July 2019	Sin, Steve; Asal, Victor	Journal Article
Terrorism Risk and Optimal Policy Response: Theory and Empirics	October 2019	Mohtadi, Hamid	Journal Article
Modeling Terrorist Attack Cycles as a Stochastic Process: Analyzing Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Incidents	August 2020	Guarrieri, Thomas; Clark, Tyler A.	Journal Article

Title	Byline
START recognized by Defence Technology Institute for its multidisciplinary collaborative work	Jessica Rivinius
START student named Marshall Scholar	Abby Robinson
START research contributes to radiation safety guide	Jessica Rivinius
START study leads to support for SLTT officials	Jessica Rivinius
Scavenger hunt activity helps START team assess capability of mobile radiation detectors
START launches online course on terror-crime nexus and CBRN	Beth Schwartz
Research Brief: Terrorism Trends with a Focus on Energy and Mining
Gary Ackerman, Steve Sin Represent START at 2015 CBRNe USA Conference	Samara Tu
Hybrid organizations have greater motivational and operations ability for RN trafficking	Liz Wasden
START researcher presents paper on preventing illegal weapons trafficking in international waters at CBRNe USA Conference	Samara Tu
The Non-Conventional Threat CBRNe event series comes to America
START Newsletter: Global terrorism increasing; GTD 2012 dataset released; New cyber research
Background Report: Truck carrying radioactive material stolen in Mexico
START researchers available to discuss radioactive material stolen in Mexico	Jessica Rivinius
START seeking 2014 Outstanding Article Award nominations	Jessica Rivinius
START aims to strengthen defense capabilities against WMD-seeking terrorists	Laura Walker
START Symposium showcases impactful research, datasets	Mary Beck, Jessica Rivinius
Breiger turns regression models 'inside out'	Emily Smith
Researcher Spotlight: Ronald Breiger	Emily Smith
Hybrid political criminal organizations pose RN smuggling threat
START researchers present work on transnational criminal organizations, terrorism and radiological/nuclear (RN) smuggling
CBRN terrorism by non-state actors	Sacha Ginsberg
Database Spotlight: Radiological and Nuclear Non-State Adversaries (RANNSAD)	Emily Bonta
Researcher Spotlight: Lauren Pinson	Nicholas Munson
Database spotlight: Big Allied and Dangerous (BAAD)	Emily Bonta
START workshop gives better understanding of CBRN technologies	Emily Bonta
New study shows alliances and not religious ideology are key to forecasting CBRN pursuit
The tradeoffs between protecting against man-made and natural disasters	Kelly Kline
START Partner Center for Biosecurity Launches
START Researchers Present at American Political Science Association Annual Conference
JOB OPPORTUNITY: START Special Research Projects IT Assistant
Press Release: START Panel Addresses Key Questions in Terrorism
Current Job Opportunities at START
Apply Now: Summer Workshop on Teaching about Terrorism
START Advisory Board member quoted in "Daily Telegraph" and CNN
START Announces Fellowships for 2005-06

Title	Job Title	Institution
John Sawyer	Director of Strategic Corporate Research Relationships	University of Maryland
Karina Panyan	Research Assistant, Global Terrorism Database (GTD), START	University of Maryland
Marcus A. Boyd	Geospatial Research Unit (GRU) Director, START Director of Graduate Studies, START	University of Maryland
Megan Rutter	Junior Researcher, START	University of Maryland
Michelle Jacome	Operations Officer on International Finance Cooperation at the World Bank
Prabhakar Misra	Professor of Physics	Howard University
R. Karl Rethemeyer	Associate Professor of Public Administration & Policy	University at Albany, State University of New York
Rebecca (Becca) Earnhardt	Presidential Scholar, Biodefense PhD Student	George Mason University
Salma Bouziani	Project Manager/Researcher, START	University of Maryland
Steve Sin	Director, Unconventional Weapons and Technology (UWT) Subject Matter Expert Instructor, National Center for Security & Preparedness	University of Maryland
Thomas Guarrieri	Director of Undergraduate Studies Assistant Research Scientist, Unconventional Weapons & Technology (UWT) Division, START	University of Maryland
Tyler A. Clark	Data Scientist, Doctoral Student	University of Maryland
Victor Asal	Associate Professor of Political Science and Chair of Public Administration	University at Albany, State University of New York