I am a professor and director of the Cyber & Innovation Policy Institute, part of the Strategic and Operational Research Department in the Center for Naval Warfare Studies at the U.S. Naval War College.
My research and teaching examine the relationship between technology and security. I’m interested in how ideas about emerging technology influence national security and international relations. Bad ideas are especially interesting — and dangerous.
My early work focused on biosecurity. My current focus is cybersecurity and technology policy. Active research includes the history of computer emergency response teams, quantum technologies and cybersecurity, cyber wargaming, and hype over information technologies in war.
All of my research is interdisciplinary. I combine security studies with science and technology studies.
In addition to scholarly research, I provide policy analysis and advice. For instance, I helped draft the 2023 National Defense Science and Technology Strategy. I have also helped assess innovation and emerging technologies for the Royal Australian Air Force, the World Economic Forum, the Information and Privacy Commissioner of New South Wales, the RAND Corporation, and Argonne National Laboratory.
During the 2010s, I split my time between Australia and the United States. I have been a scholar at the University of Sydney, the Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity at UC Berkeley, the Institute for Security and Conflict Studies at the Elliott School of International Affairs, the Griffith Asia Institute, and the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University. I received my Ph.D. in political science and B.S. in biological chemistry, both from the University of Chicago.
The views expressed here are my own. They do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Naval War College, the Department of the Navy, the Department of Defense, or the United States Government.