Newsletter
Start of Semester 2026
As the new semester begins, here is a look at the TPI team's recent activities and accomplishments.
Feature
2024-25 Annual Report
The institute has published its 2024-25 Annual Report, reflecting a year of growth as technology and security questions moved to the centre of public policy. It outlines continued work across drones, AI, semiconductors, cryptocurrencies, and cybersecurity, and how that work is shaped by regular engagement with government and industry partners. It highlights Congressional and DoD-funded research on semiconductor supply chain security and the build-out of the Cyber Test Range, including cyber civil defence efforts supported by Craig Newmark Philanthropies and an active network of veterans and active-duty researchers.
Rethinking Remote Warfare: AI, Drones, and Future War
James Patton Rogers and Wes Hutto have published a new book with Palgrave. The edited collection brings together policymakers, academics, humanitarians, industry leaders, and people from military institutions to discuss topics under debate in security studies, international politics, law, and international relations.
Dr. Michael John Williams joins as Non-Resident Senior Fellow
Williams is director of the Carnegie-Maxwell Policy Planning Lab and Associate Professor of International Affairs at Syracuse University, a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, an associate of LSE IDEAS, and editor-in-chief of International Politics. He is an international security expert with an interest in the conduct of modern war and the relationship between war, technology, and society.
Research news
Defending America Against Drones
A policy brief by Paul Lushenko and Joseph Amoroso, a Council on Foreign Relations Term Member, setting out a whole-of-government approach to defending America against drones.
AI, trust, and the war room
Paul Lushenko has published a paper with Cambridge University Press as part of a themed issue on AI and the decision to go to war. Supported by an Australian Department of Defence Strategic Policy Grant, it explores what defines US servicemembers' trust in AI systems.
The role of large language models in public commenting
Sarah Kreps and Amelia Arsenault have published in Big Data and Society on the role of large language models in the notice-and-comment period of US federal rulemaking.
Out-of-Band Power Side-Channel Detection for Semiconductor Supply Chain Integrity at Scale
A technical paper by Rajiv Thummala, Elizabeth Redmond, and Greg Falco.
Fellow highlight
Every month we highlight a fellow. This month, Junior Fellow Varija Mehta.
Varija Mehta
Studies Computer Science with a minor in Data Science at the Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science. On campus she is a Vice President of Women in Computing at Cornell, a Teaching Assistant for CS/INFO 4300, and a member of the Undergraduate Student Leadership Council. She was previously a Cadet in the Civil Air Patrol and a Cybersecurity Analyst.
Community updates
Spoke on the Women Leaders in Cybersecurity podcast about AI resilience and regulation.
Quoted in a University of Maryland School of Public Policy tip sheet on the use of US military force in Venezuela.
Working with Joint Interagency Task Force-401 to defend the US homeland from drone threats.
His group published an article on when to compute in space.
His paper on US military cadets' perceptions of AI was featured by The Science Matters.
James Patton Rogers
Commented on a Ukrainian undersea drone attack on a Russian submarine for The i Paper.
Her abstract on the values and tradeoffs of software development in military systems was accepted for presentation at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research.
Published a paper in Armed Forces and Society.
Education and outreach
Drone Warfare in South Asia
The Stimson Center is offering a new free online course on drone warfare in South Asia with videos and content from James Patton Rogers, studying the May 2025 India-Pakistan conflict and various concepts in drone warfare.
New course: Pathways to Purpose
The Brooks School is offering a new one-credit course this spring, Pathways to Purpose: Civic Leadership in Law, Health, Teaching, and Business. Held in person over a day and a half, it invites students to explore how their academic journey can serve as a foundation for civic leadership and professional purpose.
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.