Hiroko Nakamoto Lecture

Thomas Snitch (BGSU BA '75, Hon '15) joined the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency in 1981 and, after completing post-doctoral work in reactor physics and nuclear warhead design at Los Alamos National Labs, was named the first U.S. National Nuclear Officer for North Korea (and South Africa). He was one of the first people in the world to discover that North Korea was actively pursuing a nuclear weapons capability.  

Snitch holds a Distinguished Senior Professorship at the University of Maryland’s Institute of Advanced Computer Studies, where he directs an international team working on anti-poaching and wildlife crime issues. He is also a senior professor of science at the United Nations University in Tokyo, where he serves as the U.N.’s executive officer for the Worldwide Enforcement Monitoring Systems, which oversees the global trade in endangered flora and fauna.

Snitch is also president of Little Falls Associates Inc. and chief scientist at GeoQuera, consulting firms specializing in solving complex scientific and technological challenges in Asia and Africa. Since 1990, he has worked on issues such as responding to the Tohoku earthquake in Japan and the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant, remediation of abandoned chemical weapons in China, the disposal of PCB wastes on U.S. military bases in the region, remote sensing policy in India, and the North Korean nuclear weapons situation. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Chinese and Asian studies from BGSU.

One of the world’s great geopolitical analysts, Gwynne Dyer has worked as a freelance journalist, columnist, filmmaker, and lecturer on international affairs for more than 35 years. His twice-weekly column on international affairs appears in more than 40 countries in a variety of newspapers.  His radio and TV documentaries—on subjects that range from war to climate change to emerging global culture—have aired around the world. He has served in three navies, and holds a Ph.D. in military and Middle Eastern history from the University of London. His recent books analyze military and political issues and include Don’t Panic: ISIS, Terror, and Today’s Middle East (2015), Canada in the Great Power Game (2014), Climate Wars (revised edition 2010), The Mess They Made (2007), Future: Tense (2004), and War (2004).

Keiko Ogura was eight years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. She has spent her life advocating against nuclear arms and against armed conflict. In 1984, Ogura along with other hibakusha founded the Hiroshima Interpreters for Peace (HIP), which provides free-of-charge tours in Hiroshima informing the public about the atomic bomb and connecting them to a-bomb survivors. She has given her advocacy for peace around the world to thousands of audiences.

Setsuko Thurlow was 13 and living in Hiroshima when she was devastated by the atomic bomb. Throughout her life, she has been sharing her experiences in order to sensitize people about the consequences of war and conflict and to promote civility and peace. She has spoken internationally to thousands of audiences ranging from concerned citizens, academics, and school children. She received the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s Distinguished Peace Leadership Award in 2015, and in 2016, Thurlow was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.