| Excerpt from Hall of Fame Induction Program | DAVID C. WRIGHT, PH.D.
LIMA SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 1972
The United States Congress thought the work of Dr. David Wright was worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize nomination. He and three of his colleagues were honored for their efforts to educate the public about the technical shortcomings of the proposed Strategic Defense Initiative and to document the widespread opposition to the program within the US scientific community.
After graduating from Lima Senior High School, he attended Miami University of Ohio and received his B.A. from the University of Wisconsin where he continued his work in Physics with a Master’s degree. Cornell University awarded a second Master’s degree and a Ph.D. in theoretical condensed matter physics.
A life dedicated to research moved Wright from The Ohio State University to the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University. In 1988 he became a MacArthur Fellow in International Peace and Security at the Center for Science and International Affairs, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. He also was an Adjunct Fellow at the Center for International Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. From 1990-92, he was Senior Research Analyst with the Federation of American Scientists.
Currently, Dr. Wright serves as Co-Director and Senior Scientist in the Global Security Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists and a Research Scientist in the Securities Studies Program at MIT. He has published more than 60 articles on the subjects of theoretical physics or security issues. In 2000 he co-authored a book on ballistic missile defense called Countermeasures. He has testified before the US Senate on security issues, has given technical presentations at numerous international meetings, and is frequently quoted by the media.
In 2001, “For creative and sustained leadership in building an international arms-control physics community and for their own excellence in arms-control physics”, David Wright and two colleagues were awarded the Joseph A. Burton Forum Award by the American Physical Society which is the United States society for physicists.
Dr. Wright, his wife who is also a physicist with whom he often collaborates, and their daughter live in Arlington, Massachusetts. He finds great satisfaction in helping young scientists in the United States and many other countries, including Russia, China, India and Pakistan, develop technical expertise on nuclear arms control and security issues.
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