CISAC has a number of senior researchers who are interested in finding students to work on a variety of interesting problems. Depending on the case study, more or less background may be needed. In all cases, the student needs to have an ability to take the initiative, to work independently and to be intellectually aggressive. Below are some of the opportunities under CISAC's research areas. Subject to negotiation regarding level of effort and mutual preferences, academic credit or pay may be available.
Biosecurity & Global Health
Cyber Policy and Security
Herb Lin, senior research scholar for cyber policy and research, is looking for students to help work on any of the following problems:
Changing norms in cyberspace: It is widely accepted that establishing appropriate norms of behavior in cyberspace is an integral part of a safer and more secure cyberspace. But little is known about how norms evolve in cyberspace. A possible case study on this topic would be the evolution of behavioral norms regarding acceptable use of the Internet. Today, the Internet is used for a wide variety of commercial purposes. But it was not always so, and both the culture and reality of earlier incarnations of the Internet strongly discouraged (even forbade) commercial use. What drove changes in this behavioral norm? What lessons, if any, does this story hold for changing norms of behavior in a much more internationalized environment with many more competing stakeholders? How does the applicability of these lessons vary with the kind of behavioral norms at issue?
Gender imbalance in China and the cyber threat: Some recent anthropological theories argue that societies with significant excesses of men, especially young men, are more likely to go to war. It is well-known that China is developing just such an excess, but engaging in traditional warfare on a large-scale could well be ruinous for the Chinese economy and the nation as a whole. But the pursuit of cyberwarfare might offer the prospect of channeling the aggressive energies of these men into an enterprise that could be more productive for the nation. Acknowledging that such theories are controversial, it would be interesting to explore the applicability of these theories, if any, to the cyber threats that emanate from China today.
Governance, Organizations and Security
Migration and Transnational Flows
Nuclear Risk and Cooperation
Regional Conflict and Cooperation
Terrorism & Homeland Security