JERRY PETERSON
Department of Physics, University of Colorado at Boulder

Bio
After receiving his undergraduate (1961) and graduate (1966) degrees in Physics at the University of Washington, he was an instructor at Princeton University and on the research faculty at Yale University. His research interests have covered many arenas of nuclear physics, including nuclear astrophysics, nuclear reactions, nuclear fission, and applications of nuclear reactions to computer memory elements. These experimental studies have used beams from a wide variety of particle accelerators, most often involving foreign collaborators. He has been a visiting professor at the University of Copenhagen (Niels Bohr Institute), the University of Tokyo, and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. He is a Foreign Fellow of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the American Physical Society. Professor Peterson is also a member of the faculty in the UCB Program in International Affairs. His recent teaching has included classes in Physics, Environmental Studies, Journalism and International Affairs.

State Department Profile
Dr. Peterson worked as an analyst in the Office of Economic Analysis of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, where he focused on energy and the environment with an emphasis on coal and nuclear energy.  Based on his research and analyses, Dr. Peterson wrote assessments, memos, and papers on the aforementioned issues and presented briefings and seminars to U.S. officials and to the associated intelligence community. Dr. Peterson also created an informal seminar group for State officials concerned with nuclear matters, holding tutorials and bringing in high-level visitors. As a result of this seminar group and Dr. Peterson’s other efforts, there was an increase in collaboration of ideas and understanding of and sophistication in addressing energy matters throughout the Office.