Data and Nuclear Test Monitoring with Megan Slinkard

Data Today with Dan Klein

Nuclear weapons still loom large on the world stage. So why has the number of nuclear tests dropped so dramatically?

Today’s guest is Megan Slinkard, Chief of the Software Applications Section in the International Data Centre at the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO). Based in Vienna, Megan has worked in nuclear explosion monitoring for more than 10 years and is really at the coal face of the monitoring work that the organisation does.

We discuss Megan’s path to nuclear testing, how the CBTO has helped to create a culture where nuclear testing is rare, and how monitoring nuclear tests has helped bolster the CTBT (Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty).

00:00 - Intro

02:41 - Megan’s origin story

13:05 - What does CTBTO do when they detect an unusual event?

23:00 - How monitoring and testing can add robustness to a treaty

30:01 - Dan's final thoughts

LINKS:

Megan Slinkard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-slinkard-4905b2167/

CTBTO: https://www.ctbto.org/

Dan Klein: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/dplklein

Zühlke: https://www.zuehlke.com/en

Welcome to Data Today, a podcast from Zühlke.

We're living in a world of opportunities. But to fully realize them, we have to reshape the way we innovate.

We need to stop siloing data, ring-fencing knowledge and looking at traditional value chains. And that's what this podcast is about. Every two weeks, we’re taking a look at data outside the box to see how amazing individuals from disparate fields and industries are transforming the way they work with data, the challenges they are overcoming, and what we can all learn from them.

Zühlke is a global innovation service provider. We envisage ideas and create new business models for our clients by developing services and products based on new technologies – from the initial vision through development to deployment, production and operation.