Summary: The threat of another serious terrorist attack on the U.S. homeland has brought into focus the nation’s need to prepare for some of the worst cases imaginable—namely, the threats posed by nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons, or in the common shorthand of the government and press, WMD (weapons of mass destruction). Each of these three modes of WMD poses different and distinct challenges, but as a set, they can be addressed from a common framework from which technical and operational commonalities can be exploited and priorities unique to each established. Dr. Miriam John is serving in various consulting and board roles since her retirement as Vice President of Sandia’s California Laboratory in Livermore. During her Sandia career, she worked on a wide variety of programs, including nuclear weapons, chemical and biological defense, missile defense, and solar energy, and provided leadership for a number of the laboratory’s energy, national security and homeland security programs. Mim is a Senior Fellow of the DoD’s Defense Science Board and a member of its Threat Reduction Advisory Committee. Mim is also Chair of the National Research Council’s Naval Studies Board and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Institute for Hometown Security. Mim is a past member of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, the Board on Army Science and Technology, and DOE’s National Commission on Science and Security. Mim was appointed a National Associate of the National Academies of Science and Engineering. Mim chairs the California Council on Science and Technology and is a member of the Board of Advisors for MIT Lincoln Laboratory, the Board of Directors for Draper Laboratory, the External Advisory Board of Savannah River National Laboratory, the Board of Directors of SAIC, and the Strategic Advisory Board for RedX Defense Systems. Dr. John received her PH.D. in chemical engineering from Princeton University, her M.S. in chemical engineering from Tulane University, and her B.S. in chemistry from Rice University.
