Ariel (Phantitra) Phuphaphantakarn holds an MA in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies from Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS), where her thesis examined AI-integrated nuclear deterrence in the U.S.-China strategic behavioural and perception.

She was previously a fellow at the Nuclear Scholar Initiative (NSI) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) - Project on Nuclear Issues (PONI), and at James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) as a Graduate Research Assistant and Visiting Scholar where she served as IAEA Marie-Skłodowska-Curie Fellow.

Ariel held prestigious research fellowships at NEREC-KAIST, CENESS-CTBTO, Pacific Forum, and Oral History Project with Stanley Center and BASIC. During her years at MIIS Ariel served as the Chair of the NPT simulation under Dr. William C. Potter. Ariel is currently a Policy Fellow at Asia-Pacific Leadership Network (APLN).

Ariel’s research focuses on the intersection of emerging technologies with nuclear risk, perception, and decision-making. Her work examines how trust, strategic behavior, and international cooperation are shaped in technologically mediated environments. Her areas of expertise include technology and conflict; nuclear threat perception; bargaining and decision theory; and human-machine relation.

Ariel has presented her research at a number of international conferences and workshops, including the CSIS Project on Nuclear Issues (PONI) Fall Conference (2023), the Alva Myrdal Centre for Nuclear Disarmament Annual Conference (2024, 2026), the Moscow Non-Proliferation Conference in Moscow, Russia (2022), and the EU Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Consortium Workshop in Brussels, Belgium (2021).

Ariel is a YLF Mentor at UNODA (2026). She also founded and run her own Nuclear Reading Club. She previously led a book club for the Women's Wargaming Network (2025) and is an active member of Women in Nuclear for Peace (WiN4Peace) since its founding in 2023.

Ariel was also OSCE-UNODA Arms Control training scholarship recipient (2022-2023) and served as the very first Chair of Youth4TPNW Policy Working Group. She is a recipient of several competitive academic awards and scholarships, including the Kathryn Wasserman Davis Collaborative in Conflict Transformation Scholarship (2023–2025), the Schulte Scholarship for Academic Excellence (2024–2025), awarded for outstanding academic performance, and the Freeman Scholarship (2024).