Newsletter
Start of Year 2025
We hope your academic year has started well. Here is the latest update from the TPI team.
Feature
Dr. Jean-François Bélanger visits TPI
In September our Non-Resident Senior Fellow Jean-François Bélanger visited the institute to discuss his 2025 Carnegie Endowment piece, A Blueprint for a European Defense Force, in which he argues that Europe must seize the moment to build a credible, autonomous defence posture. He is an Assistant Professor at the Royal Danish Defence College, where he researches European security, military strategy, and defence cooperation.
The biomining report
The institute has released a report urging federal action to advance biomining, the use of microorganisms to extract metals from ores and waste streams. Metals like cobalt, nickel, and lithium are critical for US defence systems, clean energy, and advanced electronics, but China controls a majority of refining capacity, creating chokepoints that expose national security risks. The report calls for federal investment to turn laboratory breakthroughs into industrial deployment and secure domestic mineral independence.
New fellows
The institute welcomed a new cohort this autumn.
The full cohort
Prof Srinjoy Bose as Non-Resident Senior Fellow, John Miller as Director's Fellow, Kadhim Owayez and Martin Thorp as Non-Resident Fellows, Patrick Whitty as Industry Fellow, Rajiv Thummala as Fellow, and Sofiia Kozak, Sophia Dasser, Fiona Neibart, and Sumajja Denysiuk as Junior Fellows.
John Miller
Major John Miller is a US Air Force Special Warfare Officer who has served in Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. He is a first-year Systems Engineering PhD student at Cornell. His research assesses the feasibility of drone mass production for national defence, and he hopes to use it to influence drone design and acquisition.
Research news
Publication in regional development
Elizabeth Redmond contributed to the Thematic Encyclopedia of Regional Science, launched at the European Regional Science Association conference. She co-authored a section titled Place-Based Approaches, exploring target-oriented policies and regional development.
Military AI paper accepted to NeurIPS 2025
Paul Lushenko has co-authored a paper accepted to the NeurIPS 2025 conference, titled Military AI Needs Technically-Informed Regulation to Safeguard AI Research and its Applications.
Community updates
Published an article in The National Interest on their study of global bitcoin adoption, based on 25,000 interviews across 25 countries.
Spent the summer leading a research project on international law enforcement cooperation on cybercrime as a Departmental Visiting Scholar at the University of Oxford.
Contributed to a Perry World House report on the artificial general intelligence race and international security.
James Patton Rogers
Spoke on NPR Weekend Edition about how drone use has changed over the last decade, the current challenges, and the future of drone warfare.
Starting a new role as Deputy Director of the Strategic Technologies Program in the Economic Security and Technology Department at CSIS.
James Patton Rogers
Appeared on the BBC's The Inquiry podcast to analyse drone warfare.
Volunteered with the Atkinson Center for NYC Climate Week at Cornell Tech, for a discussion on the next frontier of federal clean energy innovation and tech policy.
Joined Joint Interagency Task Force 401, established to coordinate efforts across the Department of Defense to enhance the lethality of warfighters against drones.
James Patton Rogers
Appeared on an ABC Radio National episode unpacking military and civilian drone history.
Attended the NATO CA2X2 Forum to discuss the use of wargaming for Multi Domain Operations implementation and possible methodological fixes.
Spoke on AI and deepfakes at Economist Impact's fourth annual General Counsel Summit US.
James Patton Rogers
Was a guest on What We Know, a CNN production, discussing drone warfare in Europe.
His startup FOSAI has been acquired by Pasteur Labs, a developer of AI-driven physics simulation tools.
Commented on Bolivia's presidential election for a New York Times article.
James Patton Rogers
Addressed Russia's use of mass-produced drones for a Wall Street Journal article.
Quoted in an AFP article about the US military strike against a Venezuelan boat.
His book Afghanistan and International Relations is now available in print.
Participated in a Policy Forum for the Network for Strategic Analysis on whether Canada should join the Golden Dome project.
Hiring a Process Engineer for Gallox Semiconductors, the startup he founded.
Started a new position as a Research Fellow at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology.
Dominika Kunertova
Starting a position as a Research Fellow with the International Security Program at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center.
Education and outreach
eCornell Country Risk Analysis Certificate Program
A certificate programme developed by James Patton Rogers, designed to sharpen analytical skills for professionals engaged in multinational business, global investment assessment, or foreign policy work.
Past events
How Great-Power Competition Threatens Peace and Weakens Democracy
Co-hosted with the Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies, a seminar with Michael Brenes, Co-Director of the Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy and Senior Lecturer in Global Affairs at Yale University.