Alumni Update: David Peranteau '04

This is actually a pretty exciting time for me and my family. I will be starting a new job at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on January 6, 2014. I will be “Technical Programme Coordination Officer” for the verification arm of the IAEA (the Department of Safeguards) in the Division of Concepts and Planning.  My wife, Christine (class of 2006) and our 6-month old son are moving to Vienna, Austria from Washington DC at the beginning of the new year.

December 6 was my last day as a Program Analyst with the U.S. Department of Energy/ National Nuclear Security Administration in the Office of Nonproliferation and International Security. For four years at DOE/NNSA, I split my time between a technology development team and a policy team as part of the "Next Generation Safeguards Initiative," which is working with other parts of the USG and international partners to strengthen the IAEA for emerging verification challenges.

My new position will involve even more direct, hands-on pursuit of the same mission. I will be working with staff in the Department of Safeguards to plan, request, coordinate and report on cooperative verification R&D and other technical exchanges between the IAEA and its Member States.

This is important because the IAEA does not receive sufficient regular budget funding to pursue advanced R&D in house, but effective and efficient IAEA safeguards and inspections require technology from a wide variety of areas. This includes radiation detectors and material measurement tech, mass spec systems, surveillance systems, open source research, analysis and pattern-finding tools (e.g., Palantir), innovative tamper-indicating systems for huge containers- there’s quite a variety.

My passion for nuclear nonproliferation was sparked by my Government coursework at Dartmouth, which became the foundation for my subsequent graduate work and professional experiences. I would love to speak with any current Government majors that may be interested in a career in nuclear nonproliferation- especially if they are interested in the political, technical and diplomatic minutiae of verifying international agreements.

I have enclosed a recent picture of me at the U.S. Mission to International Organizations in Vienna (UNVIE), which overlooks the Vienna International Centre where the IAEA is headquartered.