Newsletter
February 2025
Welcome to the February edition. As always, do reach out for any additional information about anything mentioned below.
New fellow
Lauryn Williams joins as Non-Resident Senior Fellow
Lauryn was previously Chief of Staff in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy, where she spearheaded release of the first-ever National Defense Industrial Strategy Implementation Plan. Immediately prior she was Director for Strategy in the Office of the National Cyber Director, driving the White House initiative on space system cybersecurity. That work resulted in the first-ever minimum cybersecurity requirements for federal space systems, included in President Biden's January 2025 cybersecurity executive order.
Research news
A $3 million Department of Defense grant for the semiconductor project
In December the Department of Defense awarded the institute a $3 million grant to fund the Semiconductor Research Hub, investigating and enhancing semiconductor supply chain resilience. In February the hub reached initial operating capacity for its cyber test range and began analysing cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities.
A record year
On January 30th we released our annual report, showcasing the achievements and growth of the institute. It covers new fellows, research projects, courses, competitive funding, publications, and policy impact for the 2023-24 academic year.
New Junior Fellows
Nicholas Varela
A senior in the College of Arts and Sciences studying Computer Science and Government, focused on cloud, emerging, and government technologies. He spent part of 2023-24 at the University of Edinburgh studying UK politics and political data analysis, and was part of the Summer 2022 Cornell in Washington cohort. He has interned with Amazon for three summers in their US Government Tech Sector.
Ojasvi Rana
Pursuing a double degree in Biomedical Engineering Honours and Economics at the University of Sydney, currently on a year-long exchange at Cornell. As a Democracy Fellow at the Cornell Center on Global Democracy she is collaborating with a Costa Rican consulting firm to develop an ethical investment tool. She previously interned at the United States Studies Centre in Sydney working on AI policy, and at Siemens AG in India researching large-scale grid energy storage.
Community updates
Quoted in the New York Times on Elon Musk's use of X to further his goals at the Department of Government Efficiency.
James Patton Rogers
Spoke to Reuters about NATO's efforts to catch up with Russian drone development in the Arctic.
Quoted in a New York Times article on President Nayib Bukele's backing of the Trump administration.
Quoted in The Verge on the Supreme Court's use of narrow language in its decision to allow a TikTok ban.
Discussed how his engineering research helped inform executive orders on cybersecurity for space systems, with the Cornell Chronicle.
James Patton Rogers
Featured in The Hill on Trump's rhetoric around Greenland as a plan to secure economic and security agreements with Denmark.
Featured in Harvard Business Review on how the ban on Chinese-owned social media apps signals US strategy to counter Chinese influence, and how the line between national security and tech innovation is blurring.
Led a discussion at the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy on AI and military decision-making.
James Patton Rogers
Co-authored a TIME article on Trump's desire to expand into Greenland and the issues that arise from it.
Wrote an article in the Cornell Policy Review arguing for grid modernisation, diversified energy systems, and nuclear power.
Spoke with Fox 5 NY about TikTok's restoration of service despite its removal from the app stores.
Quoted in Bloomberg on Americans embracing Xiaohongshu before the TikTok ban.
Spoke with KTVU about the potential impacts of Trump's tariffs on Canada and Mexico.
James Patton Rogers
Led a talk about his book Precision: A History of American Warfare at Yale's Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy.
Provided media comment on Iran lacking incentive to prevent proxy attacks against American forces.
Upcoming events
Shaping Space Policy: Insights from the White House and Pentagon
The FBI Cyber Division: Challenges to Securing our Digital Futures
What Makes a Drone Strike Legitimate in the Eyes of the American Public?
With Dr. Paul Lushenko.