Spurgeon M. Keeny Jr., 87, an arms-control expert who held top positions at the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency during the Cold War and later ran an influential Washington think tank that advises policymakers on nuclear proliferation, died Aug. 10 at his home in Washington.
He had cancer, said his daughter, Virginia Keeny.
Mr. Keeny was a prominent scholar in his field at a time when the U.S.-Soviet arms race was one of the most important national concerns.
A Soviet expert, he gained much of his early experience as an assistant to the White House science adviser during the Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson administrations. He also served on the staff of the National Security Council from 1963 until 1969, when he moved to the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency as assistant director for science and technology. In the mid-1970s, he led an influential study on nuclear power underwritten by the Ford Foundation.
