The independent resource on global security
Robert E. Kelley
Distinguished Associate Fellow
Robert E. Kelley
Robert Kelley is a veteran of over 35 years in the US Department of Energy nuclear weapons complex, most recently at Los Alamos. He worked in research and engineering before turning to information analysis in the 1980s. He managed the centrifuge and plutonium metallurgy programs at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and later was Director of the Department of Energy Remote Sensing Laboratory, the premier US nuclear emergency response organization. He was also seconded by the USDOE to the IAEA where he served twice as a Director of the nuclear inspections in Iraq in 1992 and again in 2001. Kelley is currently based in Vienna. He has carried out professional travel to more than 20 countries.
Subject expertise
Nuclear energy and fuel cycle, plutonium metallurgy, gas centrifuge design and operation, nuclear weapons design, nuclear emergency response and overhead imagery analysis
Regional expertise
Middle East, South Asia, Africa
CONTACT Robert E. Kelley
Languages
English
Education
BS, Physics, Harvey Mudd College; MS Nuclear Engineering, University of Missouri, Columbia.
Citizenship
United States
Affiliations
- Registered Professional Engineer, Nuclear Engineering, State of California
- Registered Professional Engineer, Mechanical Engineering, State of California
SIPRI COMMENTARY
- Twenty years ago in Iraq, ignoring the expert weapons inspectors proved to be a fatal mistake (Essay, )
- Implications of the reported new activity at North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear complex (Expert comment, )
- Why is Iran producing 60 per cent-enriched uranium? (Essay, )
- How much of a proliferation threat is Iran’s uranium enrichment? (Essay, )
- Starve nuclear weapons to death with a tritium freeze (Topical backgrounder, )
SIPRI AND PARTNER PUBLICATIONS
- Verifying Nuclear Disarmament: Lessons Learned in South Africa, Iraq and Libya (SIPRI, Stockholm : January 2023)
- A Technical Retrospective of the Former South African Nuclear Weapon Programme (SIPRI, Stockholm: October 2020)
- The Challenge of Emerging Technologies to Non-proliferation Efforts: Controlling Additive Manufacturing and Intangible Transfers of Technology (SIPRI, Stockholm: April 2018)
- Is Three-dimensional (3D) Printing a Nuclear Proliferation Tool? (February 2017)
- Phosphate Fertilizers as a Proliferation-relevant Source of Uranium (May 2017)
- Cutting Through the Fog on ‘Possible Military Dimensions’ to Iran’s Nuclear Programme: Identification of Vehicles at Parchin site (SIPRI, Stockholm: August 2015) 4pp
- Cutting Through the Fog on ‘Possible Military Dimensions’ to Iran’s Nuclear Programme: Signatures in the production of Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) metal parts for weapons (SIPRI, Stockholm: August 2015) 5pp
- Cutting Through the Fog on ‘Possible Military Dimensions' to Iran’s Nuclear Programme: Roof Activity at Parchin (SIPRI, Stockholm: August 2015) 3pp
- Cutting Through the Fog on ‘Possible Military Dimensions’ to Iran’s Nuclear Programme: Purported large explosives chamber at Parchin (SIPRI, Stockholm: August 2015) 3pp
- Cutting Through the Fog on ‘Possible Military Dimensions’ to Iran’s Nuclear Programme: Large berm at the end of the building at Parchin (SIPRI, Stockholm: August 2015) 3pp
- Cutting Through the Fog on ‘Possible Military Dimensions' to Iran’s Nuclear Programme: Tungsten Use in Nuclear Weapon Simulation Tests (SIPRI, Stockholm: October 2015) 4pp
- Cutting Through the Fog on ‘Possible Military Dimensions' to Iran’s Nuclear Programme: The Missing Large Explosions Chamber at Parchin? (SIPRI, Stockholm: September 2015) 9pp
- Creating a ‘One House’ Culture at the IAEA through Matrix Management (January 2014) 8 pp.
- Verifying a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty: Technical and Organizational Considerations (August 2012) 48 pp.
External publications
- Fedchenko, V. and Kelley, R. E., New methodology offers estimates for North Korean thermonuclear stockpile, Jane’s Intelligence Review (July 2020)
- Kelley, R., 'Burma-DPRK cooperation in military affairs', US-Korea Institute at SAIS, section Foreign Affairs, posted online May 5, 2011
- Kelley, R., 'Critical mass - is Syria pursuing nuclear capability?', Jane's Intelligence Review, posted online Oct 14, 2010
- Kelley, R, and Puccioni, Allison, 'Atomic revelation - defector reveals Myanmar's nuclear programme', Jane's Intelligence Review, posted online July 20, 2010
- Albright, D., Brannan P., and Kelley R., 'Mysteries deepen over status of Arak reactor project' (ISIS report, Institute for Science and International Security, Aug 11, 2009)
- Borstad, G.A., Lime, Jose, Brown, Leslie L., Truong, Bob, Healy, G., Kelley, R., Staenz, K., and Neville, R, 'Satellite hyperspectral imaging in support of nuclear safeguards monitoring' (Institute of Nuclear Materials Management Institute, 2005)