Sébastien Philippe, Ph.D.
Research Scholar
Princeton University's Program on Science and Global Security
Sébastien Philippe is a research scholar at Princeton University’s Program on Science and Global Security within the School of Public and International Affairs. His work combines technical research and policy analysis with a the goal of creating a safer and more peaceful world. His research interests include issues of nuclear arms control, nonproliferation, disarmament and related environmental justice issues.
Philippe is the co-author of “Toxique” (French University Press, 2021), both a technical and journalistic investigation into the environmental impact of French nuclear testing in the Pacific, which was a finalist for the 2021 Albert Londres Prize (the French equivalent of the Pulitzer) and won a 2022 Sigma Award for best data journalism in the world among other accolades.
Philippe is an associate editor of the peer-reviewed technical journal Science & Global Security, and a member of the International Panel on Fissile Materials, an independent 16-country group of experts working to end the world reliance on weapon-usable uranium and plutonium. In 2023, he was appointed as an inaugural member of the newly created Scientific Advisory Group of the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, to advise member states on nuclear test victim assistance and environmental remediation.
Philippe holds a Ph.D. (2018) in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Princeton, was a Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow with the Project on Managing the Atom and the International Security Program at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and has served as a nuclear weapon system safety engineer in France’s Ministry of Armed Forces.