The fellowship, funded by the Stanton Foundation, is to stimulate the development of the next generation of thought leaders in nuclear security by supporting research that will advance policy-relevant understanding of the issues. Zhao’s work at the Sam Nunn School as a PhD Candidate in International Affairs, Science and Technology focuses on nuclear arms control and nonproliferation to address the implications for strategic stability at global and regional levels. His dissertation looks into mechanisms of trust-building between the United States and China in the process of bilateral nuclear arms control interaction.  At the Belfer Center, he will work with experts at the International Security Program and the Project on Managing the Atom to conduct research on U.S.-China nuclear relationship over a period of eleven months.

The Stanton Foundation was created by Frank Stanton, former president of CBS, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest executives in the history of electronic communications. In 1954, Dwight Eisenhower appointed him to a committee convened to develop the first comprehensive plan for the survival of the U.S. following a nuclear attack.  Stanton had lead responsibility for developing plans for national and international communication in the aftermath of a nuclear incident. Stanton also served as the chairman (1961-67) and trustee (1957-78) of the RAND Corporation. The Stanton Foundation aims, through its support of the Nuclear Security Fellows program, to perpetuate his efforts to meet these challenges.