The Center for Nuclear Security Policy (CNSP) is pleased to announce that Pranay Vaddi has joined CNSP as the inaugural Senior Nuclear Fellow of 2025.

An expert in nuclear policy, Vaddi most recently served as special assistant to President Biden.

From May 2022 to January 2025, Vaddi served as special assistant to President Joe Biden and as senior director for Arms Control, Disarmament, and Nonproliferation at the National Security Council. Prior to this, he served as a senior advisor in the Bureau of Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance at the Department of State, where he coordinated the department’s inputs for the 2022 Nuclear Posture Review. Previously, he was a fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he focused on developing recommendations for the U.S. nuclear posture and arms control policy, and examined Congress’ role in arms control.

We are thrilled to have Pranay join the new Center for Nuclear Security Policy as the Senior Nuclear Fellow. His exemplary work on U.S. nuclear policy, extended deterrence, nuclear energy, non-proliferation, and arms control as President Biden’s senior director at the National Security Council brings an unparalleled breadth and depth of experience to CNSP.

The fellowship will allow Pranay to reflect and write about his time at the White House, mentor students and other fellows, and bring a valuable practitioner’s experience to CNSP as well as the Security Studies Program.

—Frank Stanton Professor Vipin Narang, CNSP’s inaugural director

Vaddi shared, “I am honored and excited to join CNSP at its inception, and am incredibly thankful to Dr. Narang and the Security Studies Program for this opportunity. I will spend the next year aiding CNSP’s examination of contemporary nuclear security challenges, advising scholars entering the nuclear field, and contributing to MIT’s incredible legacy of advancing the public good through education, research, and innovation.”

Vaddi holds a BS in Biochemistry and BA in Political Science from the University of Rochester and a JD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

The Center for Nuclear Security Policy within the MIT Security Studies Program (SSP) was established in July 2024 through a transformational gift from the Stanton Foundation. CNSP aims to be a global hub for advancing policy-relevant research on nuclear security and promoting the development of the next generation of thought leaders in nuclear security. CNSP will focus on a broad range of topics, including nuclear deterrence, escalation, conventional-nuclear integration, extended deterrence, emerging technologies and nuclear security, proliferation and non-proliferation, and arms control. SSP is a graduate-level research and educational program focused on national and international security issues and is based at the MIT Center for International Studies.