Castiglioncello 2025

Emma Ashford is a senior fellow with the Reimagining US Grand Strategy program at the Stimson Center, where her work focuses on questions of grand strategy, international security, and the future of US foreign policy. She was previously a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, a nonresident fellow at the Modern War Institute at West Point, and a research fellow in defense and foreign policy at the Cato Institute. Ashford is an adjunct assistant professor in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University.

Her writing has been featured in publications such as Foreign Affairs, the Texas National Security Review, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and War on the Rocks, among others. She is a columnist for Foreign Policy magazine and a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Her first book, Oil, the State, and War: The Foreign Policies of Petrostates, was published by Georgetown University Press in June 2022. Her new book, First Among Equals: U.S. Foreign Policy for a Multipolar World, was published by Yale University Press in 2025.

Angela Corcelli University of Bari Aldo Moro, Associate professor of Human Physiology at the School of Medicine in Bari. She was principal investigator of researches to develop innovative hybrid biological devices to reveal landmines. Telethon researcher. Coordinator of the Brain Bee competition for the students of Regione Puglia. Director of the Peace Center of the University of Bari from 2013 to 2019. USPID Scientific Board member. RUniPace scientific board member.

Paolo Cotta Ramusino is former Secretary General of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs and Member of the Pugwash Executive Committee. He is Professor of Mathematical Physics at the University of Milan. He was Director of the Landau Network's International Disarmament and Security Program - Centro Volta. He was the National Secretary of USPID, and he is currently a member of the Scientific Council of USPID.

Marco De Andreis spent the first part of his professional career, between 1980 and 1995, in the arms control and disarmament field. Among other places, he worked as a researcher at the Institute for East West Security Studies in New York, at the Istituto Affari Internazionali in Rome, at the School of Public Affairs of the Universtity of Maryland, and as Assistant to the Secretary General at the Pugwash Conferences for Science and World Affairs. He published enough to avoid perishing.

His main field of professional activity changed in 1995 when he became a European Commission Official working as an adviser in the private office, or cabinet, of a European Commissioner. He later, 2005-2006, was an adviser to the Italian Minister of European Affairs and closed his career in 2020 as head of economic and fiscal studies at Italy's Customs Agency.

Throughout most of this he was - and still is - a member of the Scientific Council of l'Unione degli Scienziati per il disarmo (USPID)

Before moving to The Netherlands, El-khodary was the New York Times correspondent in Gaza from 2001 to 2009, an analyst for the International Crisis Group, and a TV reporter for Al-Hayat-LBC. She covered the second Intifada, Israel's unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian civil war in 2007, and the war on Gaza in 2008-2009. Taghreed also trained journalists in Palestine and Sudan. She worked for eight years as a senior editor for a chronicle on the Middle East and North Africa. Currently, El-Khodary is a commentator on Gaza and Palestine and giving media training.

Dr David Alexandre Ellwood is a theoretical physicist and mathematician who served for more than a decade as Research Director of the Clay Mathematics Institute. He is a member of the Pugwash Council and the Executive Committees of International Pugwash and the British Pugwash. David has held academic appointments at Harvard University, Boston University, Université de Strasbourg (IRMA), ETH Zürich, Université de Paris VI (UPMC) and the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques. He is also a trustee of the Atlantic Peace Foundation.

President White Professor of History and Political Science Emeritus at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA. In Italy he has served on the graduate faculties of the Catholic University of Milan, the University of Roma Tre, and the University of Bologna. His books include Innovation and the Arms Race (1988); Unarmed Forces: The Transnational Movement to End the Cold War (1999); The Chechen Wars: Will Russia Go the Way of the Soviet Union? (2002); Law, Ethics, and the War on Terror (2008); Gender, Nationalism, and War: Conflict on the Movie Screen (2011); Allied Air Attacks and Civilian Harm in Italy, 1940–1945: Bombing among Friends (2023, available for free download here); and edited volumes on topics ranging from the laws of war to Italian politics. Many of his publications are available at https://matthewevangelista.com.

Chiara Fargnoli is a Policy Intern at the British American Security Information Council (BASIC). Prior to BASIC, Chiara was a research associate at the Belfer Center at Managing the Atom, where she focused on European missile defense and nuclear deterrence. Chiara recently completed her Master's degree in Law and Diplomacy at the Fletcher School-Tufts University, with a focus on Conflict Resolution and Technology. She also holds a mediation certificate from the Harvard Mediation Program.

Barbara Gallo journalist since 2016, she graduated in Sociology from the University of Rome "La Sapienza". Since 2005 she has been dealing with issues related to the geopolitics of conflicts in the area of the Asian subcontinent. In the past she collaborated with UNICEF Italia in advocacy activities, with the Fondazione Pangea an Italian NGO which operates in Afghanistan, India and Italy dealing specifically with the situation of women in Afghanistan. Since 2019, in the role of Head of International Relations, she has followed the Stop Killer Robots Campaign, involving in the UN debate on Lethal Autonomous Weapons, and she is responsible for the relations with the European Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Consortium. She has also participated as a speaker at several international conferences on the issues of international military spending, autonomous lethal weapons and weapons of mass destruction. She is the author of numerous articles on topics such as human rights, the situation of women and children in conflict areas and weapons of mass destruction. She lives and works in Rome.

Dario Guarascio is Associate Professor of Economic Policy at the Department of Economics and Law – Sapienza University of Rome - and external affiliate of the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, of the National Institute for Public Policy Analysis (INAPP) and of the Nexa Center for Internet & Society (Polytechnic University of Turin). Dario Guarascio's research covers economics of innovation, digitalization and labor markets, European economy and industrial policy.

Dr. Maria (Marilena) Longobardi is Executive Director and Head of Education of the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) SPIN at the University of Basel, where she coordinates a national program on semiconductor spin-qubit quantum technologies with more than 30 partner institutions, including IBM, ETH Zurich, EPFL, Roche, and TU Delft. A quantum physicist by training, she earned her PhD at the University of Salerno jointly with the University of California, Berkeley, and has over a decade of research experience in experimental quantum physics, focusing on low-dimensional quantum systems and hybrid nanostructures.

Alongside her scientific leadership, Dr. Longobardi is deeply engaged in international science diplomacy. She was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2022 for her contributions to physics and science diplomacy. She contributes to global quantum initiatives through the APS, UNESCO, and the European Commission and advises international organizations on the societal, ethical, and security implications of emerging quantum technologies. Recognized by Inspiring Fifty (Italy 2021, UK 2023) as one of Europe's most influential women in science and technology, her current focus includes connecting quantum research with global policy and assessing its implications for nuclear security, arms control, and strategic stability.

David Menashri is an emeritus professor and scholar of Middle Eastern history at Tel Aviv University (TAU). His research focuses on Middle Eastern Studies with special focus on Iranian politics and society. Among others, he served as the Chair of the Department of Middle Eastern and African History; Founder and first Director of the Alliance Center for Iranian Studies and Dean of Special Programs. Following his retirement from TAU, he was President of the College of Law and Business in Ramat Gan, Israel.
Menashri has been a visiting scholar in leading universities worldwide. He was Fulbright Scholar at both Princeton and Cornell Universities (1984-86) and Visiting Professor at University of Chicago (1989-90) and Cornel (1993-94). In 2000-2001 he was visiting Professor at the Universities of Melbourne, Waseda (Japan) and Munich. In 2010-2011 he was visiting scholar at Yale, Oxford, Monash and Mainz. In 2016-17 he was Visiting Professor at UCLA. Before the 1979 revolution, he spent two years conducting research at Tehran University.
Menashri authored numerous books and monographs, including: Iran in Revolution (Tel Aviv, 1989; in Hebrew); Iran: A Decade of War and Revolution (New York, 1990); Education and the Making of Modern Iran (Ithaca, NY, 1992); Iran: Between Islam and the West (Tel Aviv, 1996; in Hebrew); Central Asia Meets the Middle East (ed., London, 1998); Post-Revolutionary Politics in Iran: Religion, Society and Power (London, 2001). His book on Iranian education has been published in Tehran in Persian. He edited in 2023 Iranian Jews in Israel. His most recent article “Les Juifs d’Iran entre le marteau et l’enclume” was published in Herodote ( 2025), 91-109.

Benoît Pelopidas is Full Professor and the founding director of the Nuclear Knowledges program at the Center for International Studies, Sciences Po, Paris. Nuclear Knowledges is the first scholarly research program in France on the nuclear phenomenon which refuses funding from stakeholders of the nuclear weapons enterprise or from antinuclear activists in order to problematize conflicts of interest and their effect on knowledge production. His team's scholarship has received six international awards.

Lorenzo Piccioli is a security and defense analyst at the Italian outlet Formiche. His research focuses on conflict analysis, military innovation, and great-power competition, with a particular interest in the military developments of Russia and China. He has gained professional experience within international organizations and think tanks in several countries

Alice Saltini is an AI-Nuclear Policy Advisor at the Institute for Security and Technology and a Non-Resident Expert on AI at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), specializing on the impact of AI on nuclear decision-making. She advises governments and international organizations on managing AI-related nuclear risks, focusing on mitigating the challenges of integrating AI into military and nuclear systems. She has published widely on these issues and developed a general-purpose risk assessment framework for analyzing AI-nuclear risks. Previously, she served as a Policy Fellow with the European Leadership Network and completed stints with the CTBTO and CNS. Alice holds a Master's Degree in Russian Studies and a Post-Graduate Certificate (PgCert) in Nonproliferation Studies. ​

Katariina Simonen is Adjunct Professor at the National Defense University, visiting Fellow at the University of Helsinki, Dept. of World Cultures and Member of Pugwash Council. She serves also as Senior Ministerial Counselor at the Finnish Government. She holds a Ph.D. in international law from University of Turku (2010). Her research interests include Iran nuclear issues, disarmament and non-proliferation negotiations, with focus on the Baltic and the Arctic and Pugwash history. Her newest, outcoming book, co-authored with Poul-Erik Christiansen, is "Dialogue Across Divides". The Pugwash Conferences in the 21st Century" (in press/Cambridge Scholars).

Dr. Polina Sinovets is the Founder and Head of the Odesa Center for Nonproliferation (OdCNP), Odesa I.I. Mechnikov National University (Ukraine). In this role, she leads the education, training, research, and outreach activity of OdCNP.
Since October 1, 2024, Dr. Sinovets has also been working as a visiting researcher at Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), combining it with her continuing work as a senior lecturer at Odesa I.I. Mechnikov National University. She is the author, co-author of multiple publications on nuclear weapons policy of the US and Russia, nuclear deterrence, strategic stability, European security in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, NATO Defence College Research Papers, War on the Rocks, as well as the editor of Ukraine’s Nuclear History: A Non-Proliferation Prospective (Springer, 2022), Arms Control and Europe. New Challenges and Prospects for Strategic Stability (Springer, 2022), Russia’s War on Ukraine: The Implications for the Global Nuclear Order (Springer, 2023).

Franziska Stärk is a Researcher at the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg (IFSH) and an external PhD candidate at Erasmus University Rotterdam. She has a background in IR and critical security studies, and her research focuses on nuclear ethics, arms control, and alliance politics. Previously at IFSH, she coordinated the "Young Deep Cuts Commission". Before joining IFSH, she worked as a Policy Advisor for the Munich Security Conference, where she tackled a wide array of security policy issues, including arms control, energy security, and human security.

Dmitry Stefanovich
Research Fellow, IMEMO RAS, Russian Federation
Dmitry Stefanovich is a Research Fellow at the Center for International Security at the Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IMEMO RAS), member of the Council for Foreign and Defense Policy (SVOP), member of the PIR Center Advisory Board, expert of the Russian International Affairs Councils (RIAC) and the Valdai Discussion Club.
Dmitry graduated (with honors) from the NRNU MEPhI with a specialist degree in International Relations and the International Science and Technology Cooperation specialization. In 2019 he was a Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg (IFSH), Arms Control and Emerging Technologies program. In 2022-2023 he was a member of the of the first P5 Young Professionals Network team. Since 2023 Dmitry has been a member of the N5 Expert Level Track group.
Dmitry is an author of numerous publications for academic journals, think tanks and media. His research interests include strategic weapons, long-range precision weapons, hypersonic weapons, space weaponization, disruptive technologies and their impact on international security and strategic stability, arms control, regional security.

Guglielmo Tamburrini is Research Associate and retired Philosophy of Science and Technology Professor at Università di Napoli Federico II in Italy. he coordinated the first European project on the ethics of robotics (ETHICBOTS, 2005-2008), and was awarded in 2014 the Giulio Preti International Prize by the Regional Parliament of Tuscany for contributing to the dialogue between Science, Philosophy and Democracy. Fellow of the Nexa Center for Internet & Society at Politecnico di Torino; Scientific board member of USPID (Unione degli Scienziati per il Disarmo); Member of ICRAC (International Committee for Robot Arms Control), and of ISODARCO (International School on Disarmament and Research on Conflicts).

Dr. Chen Zak Kane is the Project Head of the Middle East Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone Project at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), and the Middle East Nonproliferation Program Director at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS). She is the founder of the Middle East Next Generation Arms Control Network. Dr. Kane has held research positions at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University, as well as the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. She was an adviser to both the Jebsen Center for Counter-Terrorism at Tufts University, the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University, as well as an adjunct professor with the National Defense University. Prior to joining CNS, Dr. Kane worked at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). She holds a PhD and MALD from Tufts University's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

Sergey Batsanov, retired Soviet/Russian ambassador and negotiator on arms control and disarmament, is member of the Council of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs and Director of the International Pugwash Geneva Office; he has been one of the key authors of the international Convention for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and served as Director of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) from 1993 to 2004; from 1989 to 1993 he was representative of the Soviet Union / Russian Federation to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. He is member of the European Leadership Network.

PhD in International History (Roma Tre University), MA in Political Sciences, and II level Master in Historical Communication, Multimedia and Digital Languages. Historian, with academic background in Nuclear History and Peace Studies. Research interests and scientific publications on: Cold War, specifically West German and Italian foreign and security policy during détente, scientists’ commitment to disarmament and arms control. Passionate in communication and dissemination, beyond teaching (Roma Tre University and Luiss) and research, she has organized conferences, advanced courses, workshops and cultural events. She participated in, and coordinated collective editorial projects (such as the forthcoming Cambridge History of the Nuclear Age). Currently she is the Secretary of ISODARCO courses and collaborates with Round Robin publisher and the association Libreria in Viaggio.

Giuliano Colombetti is a Physicist, retired Research Director at CNR (National Research Council) now CNR Research Associate; former Secretary of Pisa Section of USPID and currently member of the Scientific Council of USPID.

Francesco Forti is professor of physics at the University of Pisa. He has participated in particle physics experiments in various international collaborations at CERN (Geneva), SLAC (Stanford), KEK (Japan). He has received many appointments in scientific review committees both for Italian and international organizations. Since 2019 he is the National Secretary of USPID.

Diego Latella is a computer scientist. He was Contract Researcher with the University of Pisa, at the Department of Computer Science in 1984 and 1985, Researcher with the Italian National Research Council (CNR) at the Institute of Information Science and Technology ``A. Faedo'' (ISTI) in Pisa from 1986 to 2000 and Senior Researcher at ISTI from 2001 to 2024, when he retired.
He is a member of: the Scientific Council of the Union of Scientists For Disarmament
(USPID), of which he served as National Secretary from 2010 to 2019; the International
School On Disarmament And Research On Conflicts (ISODARCO); the Management
Committee of the Laboratory of Informatics and Society of the Consorzio Interuniversitario Nazionale di Informatica; the Scientific Committee of the IRIAD Review of the Institute of International Research Archives Disarmament. He is one of the founders of the Gruppo Interdisciplinare su Scienza, Tecnologia e Società of Area della Ricerca CNR in Pisa.

Francesco Lenci is a Physicist, retired Research Director at CNR (National Research Council) now CNR Research Associate; former Director of CNR Biophysics Institute (from 1990 to 2002) and former Member of CNR General Scientific Council (from 2006 to 2011). Senior Fellow of the Centro Interdisciplinare Scienze per la Pace (CISP, Pisa University); Member of the Scientific Council of USPID, USPID National Secretary from 1983 to 1990; Member of the "Initiative Committee" preparing the Moscow Forum of 1987; Member of Pugwash Council and of Accademia dei Lincei Working Group SICA (International Security and Arms Control), Co-founder of GI-STS (Interdisciplinary Group on Science, Technology and Society of CNR Campus in Pisa, CNR/GI-STS).

Mieke Massink (PhD 1996, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands) is a Senior Researcher in Computer Science at the Formal Methods and Tools lab at CNR-ISTI (Institute of Information Science and Technology ``A. Faedo''), a computer science research institute of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR). Prior to this appointment, she held positions at the University of Nijmegen, The University of Twente, both in the Netherlands, and, in the context of several European projects, at the CNR-CNUCE and CNR-ISTI institutes, Italy, and the University of York, United Kingdom. Her research interests include the development and application of formal methods for the specification and verification of concurrent, safety critical software systems, including those exibiting large scale emergent behaviour, and logic based spatial model checking for medical image analysis. She is coordinator of the Computers and Society Working Group of GI-STS (Interdisciplinary Group on Science, Technology and Society) of the Area della Ricerca CNR in Pisa. She is a member of USPID (Unione degli Scienziati per il Disarmo) and has held courses on social responsibility of computer scientists in the past at the University of Nijmegen, the Netherlands and the University of Pisa, Italy.

Chiara Roda is an experimental particle physicist and Professor of Physics at the University of Pisa. She spent several years at the CERN Laboratory, contributing to experiments to investigate the structure of fundamental interactions of matter constituents. Since 1996, she has been part of the ATLAS experiment, where she has held several leadership roles and coordinated the ATLAS-Pisa research group for over a decade. She is currently Head of the Department of Physics at the University of Pisa. She has joined USPID since 2023.