Dr. Francis Slakey
Francis Slakey is the Upjohn Lecturer on Physics and Public Policy at Georgetown University, specializing in energy and security policy. He is also the author of the best-selling adventure memoir “To The Last Breath“.
Dr. Slakey received his PhD in Physics in 1992 from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. His technical publications have received more than 500 citations. He has also written widely on science policy issues, publishing more than fifty articles for the popular press including The New York Times, Washington Post, and Scientific American. He has served in advisory positions for a diverse set of organizations including the National Geographic, the Council on Foreign Relations and the Creative Coalition — the political advocacy organization of the entertainment industry. He is a Fellow of the APS, a Fellow of the AAAS, a MacArthur Scholar, and a Lemelson Research Associate of the Smithsonian Institution.
Dr. Slakey is the first person in history to both summit the highest mountain on every continent and surf every ocean. He became the 28th American to summit Mt. Everest in an unguided expedition that was the subject of the movie “Beyond the Summit”. In recognition of his adventures, as part of the 2002 Olympic Games, he carried the Olympic torch from the steps of the US Capitol.
Current Positions
Co-Director, SPI
Upjohn Lecturer on Physics and Public Policy, Georgetown University
Associate Director of Public Affairs, APS
Contact Information
email: slakeyf@georgetown.edu
phone: 202.662.8706
Areas of Concentration
Energy & Defense Policy
Education
PhD in Physics, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, 1992
Publications & Commentary
Dr. Slakey’s scientific publications have received more than 500 citations. He has also written widely on science policy issues, publishing more than fifty articles for the popular press including The New York Times, Washington Post, and Scientific American.
Recent technical publications include:
- “Rare-Earth Supply Crunch Needs Helping U.S. Hand: Commentary”
- “Stop laser uranium enrichment”
- “Laser Nuclear Technology Might Pose Security Risk”
- “Experts Call for Additional Scrutiny of Proposed Enrichment System”
- “Nuclear Power: Securing Benefits, Limiting Risk”
- “What about the Nukes?”
- “The Nuclear Weapons Production Complex and the Reliable Replacement Warhead”
- “The United States Nuclear Weapons Program”
- “Nuclear Power: Securing Benefits, Limiting Risk”
- “The Modern Pit Facility”
- “The Hydrogen Initiative”
Distinctions
- Fellow, AAAS
- More than 100 invited talks including to US Strategic Command, NASA, and AAAS
- Lemelson Research Associate, Smithsonian Institution
- MacArthur Scholar
- Fellow, American Physical Society
- Participant in White House ceremony with President Bush
- Participant in White House Nuclear Test Ban event with President Clinton
- Invited Speaker, Library of Congress
- NATO Assistantship to the Advanced Study Institute, St. Andrews, Scotland
- NATO Assistantship to the Institute for Advanced Study, University of Jerusalem
- APS “Centennial Speaker”
- NSF Summer Scholarship, Utah State University, Logan
- Fellow, Explorers Club
- Olympic Torch Carrier from steps of the US Capitol, 2002 Olympic Games
- 28th American to summit Mt. Everest
- Summited the highest mountain on every continent
Advisory Positions, current and recent
- Advisory Board, Reviews of Policy Research
- Nuclear Weapons Complex Assessment Committee, AAAS
- Science Consultant, The National Geographic
- Council Member, The Gerson Lehrman Group
- Science Advisor, The Creative Coalition
- Judge, Westinghouse & AAAS Science Journalism Awards
- Advisory Panel on Nuclear Terrorism, Council on Foreign Relations
- Advisory Panel on Lab Improvement, National Science Foundation
- Advisory Board, The Triple Helix
Non-Academic Interests
Dr. Slakey became the 28th American to summit Mt. Everest in an unguided expedition that hauled 700 spent oxygen bottles and a half-ton of trash off the mountain. He is the first person in history to summit the highest mountain on every continent and surf every ocean. He has hitchhiked across Central Asia, lived with Masai in East Africa, scaled the granite face of El Cap, and skied in Antarctica. He appeared in the National Geographic documentary, Beyond the Summit, narrated by Sharon Stone and has written for numerous publication about his expeditions. In recognition of his climbing, as part of the 2002 Olympic Games, he carried the Olympic torch from the steps of the US Capitol.