This speaker session covered the environment in which non-state actor adversaries are currently operating and how that impacts their ability to access and adopt bio weapons and related tactics. Rocco Casagrande discussed the trends in the democratization of biotechnologies. Gary Ackerman discussed the changes in the adversaries themselves pulling from research he and his team have conducted relating to this topic. Rebecca Earnhardt talked about how this all intersects with cybercrime and cyber activity and that that in itself impacts the ‘environment’ for adversaries. Gigi Gronvall provided a perspective on the implications of the political and policy environment as it relates to adversary behavior in this area.

The use of sarin gas in Syria and the nerve agent VX to assassinate Kim Jong-nam, and ongoing international efforts in dual-use brain science (such as those described in the accompanying papers) prompt renewed interest in the current and near-term possibilities of developing and employing neuroweapons.

Scott Huettel is the Jerry G. and Patricia Crawford Hubbard Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, with secondary appointments in the Departments of Psychiatry and Neurobiology. His research uses a combination of behavioral, genetic, physiological, and neuroscience techniques to discover the neural mechanisms that underlie higher cognition, with a focus on economic and social decision making.

Dean Cheng is currently the Senior Research Fellow for Chinese Political and Military Affairs at the Heritage Foundation. He is fluent in Chinese, and uses Chinese language materials regularly in his work.

CAPT Todd Huntley is currently assigned as the Deputy Assistant Judge Advocate General of the Navy for International and Operational Law. He also serves as a Special Advisor to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Threat Reduction and Arms Control.

Timothy L. Thomas is a senior analyst at the Foreign Military Studies Office (FMSO) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He retired from the U.S. Army as a Lieutenant Colonel in the summer of 1993.

Dr. Christopher Paul is a Senior Social Scientist working out of RAND’s Pittsburgh office. Prior to joining RAND full-time in July of 2002, he worked at RAND as adjunct staff for six years. Chris received his Ph.D. in sociology from UCLA in 2001; he spent academic year 2001-02 on the UCLA statistics faculty.

Gary King is the Albert J. Weatherhead III University Professor at Harvard University — one of 24 with the title of University Professor, Harvard’s most distinguished faculty position. He is based in the Department of Government (in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences) and serves as Director of the Institute for Quantitative Social Science.

MAJ Wieck attended the Georgetown School of Foreign Service, earned a Master’s Degree in Education at George Fox University, and is currently assigned to the 152nd Theater Information Operations Group in Camp Parks, CA.

Christine MacNulty has forty years experience as a consultant in long-term strategic -planning for concepts as well as organizations, futures studies, foresight, and technology forecasting, technology assessment and related areas, as well as socio-cultural change. For the last twenty years, most of her consultancy has been conducted for the Department of Defense.