Edwin Lyman is an expert on nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism as well as nuclear power safety and security. He directs the Nuclear Power Safety program at the Union of Concerned Scientists in Washington, DC.

Lyman earned a doctorate in physics from Cornell University in 1992, after which he became a postdoctoral research associate at Princeton University's Center for Energy and Environmental Studies (now the Science and Global Security Program). His research focuses on nuclear power safety and security, and he has testified numerous times before Congress and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.  He is a co-author (with David Lochbaum and Susan Q. Stranahan) of the book Fukushima: The Story of a Nuclear Disaster .