Dr. Sulgiye Park has joined the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) as a Research Scholar, where she will contribute to research, teaching, and mentorship.

Park’s work focuses on the front and back end of the nuclear fuel cycle, including the monitoring and verification of nuclear activities and the analysis of global stockpiles of fissile materials. At CISAC, her research will center on leveraging multi-sensor imagery and open-source intelligence to examine nuclear proliferation in geopolitically sensitive regions, including North Korea. In addition, Park will explore issues surrounding critical metal supply chains with the broader context of global strategic competition. Her research draws on deep technical expertise to address critical questions of nonproliferation, disarmament, and nuclear policy.

Before returning to CISAC, Park served as a Senior Scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, where she led projects on nuclear safeguards and contributed to policy advocacy aimed at strengthening global nuclear security. Prior to that, she was a research scientist at Stanford’s Doerr School of Sustainability, where she examined the U.S. supply chain for rare-earth metals.

Her relationship with CISAC is a longstanding one. Park was previously a MacArthur and Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow at the Center, where her research explored uranium and critical metal resources in North Korea, as well as challenges in radioactive waste management. She has published extensively on North Korea’s uranium mining and milling infrastructure, offering insights that have informed disarmament and nonproliferation efforts.

At CISAC, Park will co-teach the Center’s selective, year-long undergraduate honors seminar in international security and help lead the CISAC Honors College program in Washington, D.C., and on campus. “I am especially excited about the opportunity to teach and engage with students—sharing insights on all aspects of nuclear policy, technology, and security,” adds Park. Through her mentorship and instruction, she will help prepare the next generation of scholars and policymakers working on global security challenges.

Park earned her Ph.D. in Geological Sciences from Stanford University, where her dissertation focused on the characterization of nuclear and earth materials under extreme conditions. Her work has appeared in both leading scientific journals and policy publications. She brings to CISAC a rare combination of technical depth, field-based expertise, and a commitment to using science in service of public policy.