This ACDA program for visiting scholars in the field of arms control, nonproliferation and disarmament was established by Congress in 1983. The purpose of the program is "to give specialists in the physical sciences and other disciplines relevant to ACDA's activities an opportunity for active participation in the arms control, nonproliferation and disarmament activities of the Agency and to gain, for the Agency, the perspective and expertise such persons can offer." In honor of the first director of ACDA, William C. Foster, these visiting scholars are known as William C. Foster Fellows.
Candidates for the Fellowship, who must be tenured or tenure-track faculty members at a U.S. college or university, are chosen by a board chaired by the current ACDA director and composed of all former directors of the Agency. Since 1984, approximately 40 fellows have served at ACDA. Appointments are made for a full year.
Fellows chosen for the 1996-1997 year are:
David Hafemeister, Ph.D., California Polytechnic State University,
Department of Physics;
assigned to the Bureau of Strategic and Eurasian Affairs;
Douglas Smith, Ph.D., University of Florida,
Department of Geology; assigned to the Bureau of
Intelligence, Verification and Information Management.
Hubert H. Humphrey Doctoral Fellowships in Arms Control and Disarmament, designed to encourage specialized training and research in arms control, nonproliferation and disarmament, are sponsored by ACDA as a part of its legislatively-mandated responsibilities for the conduct, support and coordination of arms control research. Named in honor of Senator Hubert H. Humphrey, a strong arms control advocate, these grants provide tuition assistance and stipends to advanced graduate students completing dissertations on arms control-related topics. Candidates for the J.D. degree are also eligible for Humphrey Fellowships during their third year of study. Candidate applications, including abstracts of Ph.D. dissertation or J.D. thesis topics, are reviewed by a panel of academic consultations and by a selection committee. Fellows receive a stipend of up to $8,000 plus a maximum of $6,000 to defray the cost of tuition and fees. Nineteen rounds of competition have been held since the program's inception in 1979, and 86 awards have been made to date.
The following students received Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Awards for the 1996-97 academic year:
Joshua Roebuck, Ohio State University
Thesis Title: "The Political Impact of Non-Governmental Organizations in Transnational Efforts
to Control the Conventional Arms Trade"
James Walsh, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Thesis Title: "Nuclear Inhibitions: Why so Few Countries Built the Bomb"