Former Secretary of Defense William Perry, physicist and arms control expert Sidney D. Drell, former Secretary of State George P. Shultz, and former Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sam Nunn received the Rumford Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Oct. 12 in recognition of their ongoing efforts to reduce the global threat of nuclear weapons.

During the award program in Cambridge, Mass., Perry, Drell, Shultz and Nunn spoke about confronting the nation's most vexing national security issues and their collective work to reduce the risk of use, and prevent the spread of, nuclear weapons.

The American Academy's Rumford Prize, established in 1839, recognizes contributions that advance the good of mankind in the fields of heat and light, broadly interpreted. Previous winners include Thomas Alva Edison, for his investigations in electric lighting; Enrico Fermi, for his studies of radiation theory and nuclear energy; and Charles H. Townes, for his development of the laser.

"The four men we honor today have been at the heart of American national security policymaking," Academy Chief Executive Office Leslie Berlowitz said during the program. "They now lend their considerable expertise and reputations to move the world on a path away from nuclear weaponry. In an age of increased risks of proliferation and rising dangers posed by terrorists or rogue states, the need for their leadership has never been greater."

The academy will present the Rumford Prize to former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, who has also collaborated on this effort, at a later date.

In addition to the presentation of the prize and remarks by the recipients, a symposium featured several of the nation's leading voices on nuclear energy and nonproliferation, including CISAC's Co-Director Scott D. Sagan; Richard Meserve, former chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Robert Rosner, director of Argonne National Laboratory; Richard K. Lester, MIT professor of nuclear science and engineering; and Steven E. Miller, director of the International Security Program at Harvard.

Berlowitz noted that the academy is conducting a study called, the Global Nuclear Future, to identify ways to manage the spread of nuclear energy so that it does not lead to an increase in weapons proliferation or nuclear terrorism. The project brings together experts who do not typically communicate with one another--such as nuclear engineers and social scientists, nuclear industry leaders and environmentalists, and policymakers and regulators--to foster an interdisciplinary and international network focusing on nuclear energy and security.