Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Spotlight: Gurcharan Gill, Nonproliferation

How do you support NNSA?

I’m a Front Office Action Officer for the Office of Material Management and Minimization (M3). I manage the flow of requests between our four program offices and the rest of the Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation. This can include finalizing public affairs activities, coordinating on crosscutting issues, supporting the planning of International Atomic Energy Agency conferences, preparing NNSA leadership for bilateral or multilateral meetings, and editing and tracking nonproliferation legislation and congressional requests.

What is your personal background, and how has that shaped you and your approach to your career? 

I’m a first-generation Indian American and I was raised by my grandparents, who came of age during the partition of India and Pakistan in the 1940s. Hearing their stories made me aware of international relations from an early age and how in some parts of the world, the modern nation state was painfully formed after colonization due to a clash of cultural, ethnic, or religious identities.

In high school, joining the speech and debate team and becoming a policy and parliamentary debater affirmed my interest in pursuing a career in international relations. As I learned about the geopolitical dynamics in other parts of the world, I found them just as fascinating.

Having been raised within both the eastern and western culture, I truly enjoy working cross culturally with international counterparts and it continues to be one of the highlights of my career in nuclear security and nonproliferation.

What did you study in school and how did it impact you personally and professionally?

For my undergraduate degree, I studied economics at the University of California, Los Angeles. For my graduate degree at American University, I studied international relations with a focus on global governance, politics, and security.

I studied economics because I was unsure of what type of career I wanted and I thought that it had a broad application. The coursework was satisfyingly challenging, and it gave me the framework for thinking critically and analytically – which has served me in the long term. I still use the concepts I learned – opportunity cost when making decisions, market structure when learning about new industries, and diminishing marginal utility (like when the second cup of coffee doesn’t taste quite as good as the first).

While studying international relations, I learned the value of historical knowledge – as history is often a driving force behind geopolitics – and the importance of being informed.

Beyond the classroom, I learned about grit, since working full-time and taking classes at night made me work harder than I ever had before and showed me what I was capable of.

What led you to a career in nuclear security?

After working in the global energy sector, I became interested in nuclear security and deterrence while studying international relations at American. I applied for the NNSA Graduate Fellowship Program to learn more about the Nuclear Security Enterprise and decide if I wanted to make a career pivot. Being a fellow has been an incredibly enriching experience. I have been introduced to all things nuclear, from the DOE lab complex to nonproliferation, strategic trade, uranium supply and the civil nuclear industry, and more. This year has taught me the value in taking career risks, even when it may seem scary.

What is the best part about your job?

I never stop learning. Given the variety of things that come across my desk, I have learned about everything from interagency coordination to the budget process. When it comes to technical concepts – which I find the most intellectually stimulating – I feel privileged to have learned from my M3 colleagues who have deep expertise or from our renowned DOE lab experts.

What is your proudest accomplishment at NNSA?

Supporting the nonproliferation mission. The Office of Material Management and Minimization works to minimize, and where possible eliminate, weapons-usable nuclear material in civilian uses. I support my program colleagues by maintaining a smooth flow of communication, information, and tasks between them and the front office to help us continue to achieve our mission.

Tell us something interesting about yourself. 

I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mongolia and lived in the Gobi Desert for over two years. Ulaanbaatar, the capital city, was a 24-hour bus ride away on a road that was only partially paved. Having just finished college, serving as in the Peace Corps was a life-changing experience primarily because it made me answer the question – what is my identity? 

Each Peace Corps volunteer who has returned will tell you that the struggles they faced depended on the country they served. In Mongolia, it was the harsh, long, cold winters in one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. It wasn’t easy for this California girl, but what I found was the powerful warmth of human connection. When I first arrived to live with a host family, we didn’t speak a shared language so we couldn’t communicate. We looked different, had different cuisines, and believed in different faiths. But by the time we said goodbye a few months later, my host parents and I were crying. How we can forge such connections so quickly with strangers is proof that our similarities greatly outweigh our differences. 

What advice would you have for anyone interested in a career in nuclear security? 

First, having a strong work ethic is incredibly important. Most of the opportunities I was given in my early career were because someone recognized my willingness to work hard. Second, there is immense value in networking. I don’t mean transactionally. Network with a genuine curiosity to learn about others, their experiences, and to build greater awareness of the Nuclear Security Enterprise. Lastly, find work that you enjoy because the work, rather than being a means to an end, can be the reward itself. 

Who is someone that inspires you and why?

I’m often inspired by my loved ones starting with my father. Growing up, I saw that he had an incredible work ethic which led to successful careers in engineering and real estate. Most importantly though, he prized humility and integrity, and those values informed the way he engaged with the world. He instilled those in me from an early age. He inspired me because continues to show me what a focused mind and being a person of action can accomplish.

How do you plan to commemorate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month?

A lot of the opportunities the Asian American and Pacific Islander community benefit from today are because we stand on the shoulders of giants. I commemorate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month by increasing awareness of the contributions of notable individuals in U.S. government and nuclear security such as Dr. Chien-Shiung Wu and Congressman Dalip Saund. Dr. Wu was an experimental physicist who played a critical role in the Manhattan Project and was the first woman to serve as the president of the American Physical Society. Congressman Saund was the first Indian and Asian American member of Congress. He migrated to the U.S. via Ellis Island and fought for Indians to become naturalized American citizens.