Dr Heather Williams is a Lecturer in the Defence Studies Department Centre for Science and Security Studies (CSSS) at King’s College London and an Associate Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). Dr Williams currently serves as a Specialist Advisor to the House of Lords International Relations Committee inquiry into the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and Disarmament. She is also an adjunct Research Staff Member in the Strategy, Forces, and Resources Division of the Institute for Defense Analyses in Alexandria, Virginia, where she has worked since 2008 on US nuclear policy for the US Department of Defense. She leads projects on the impact of emerging technology on deterrence, the future of arms control, risks of social media to conflict escalation, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Until January 2015, Heather was a Research Fellow on Nuclear Weapons Policy at Chatham House and led research on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Humanitarian Impacts of Nuclear Weapons Initiative. Dr Williams completed her PhD in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London in December 2014. She has a BA in International Relations and Russian Studies from Boston University, and an MA in Security Policy Studies from The George Washington University.
