Georgia Tech Awarded U.S. Army War College Senior Service Fellowship

The Georgia Institute of Technology has been awarded two United States Army War College Senior Service Fellowships.

The Georgia Institute of Technology has been awarded two United States Army War College Senior Service Fellowships. Two active duty Army lieutenant colonels or colonels will spend an academic year at The Sam Nunn School of International Affairs starting in fall 2015.

“We are extremely proud to have been selected to receive these two U.S. Army Senior Service Fellowships,” said Nunn School assistant professor Margaret E. Kosal, who directs the Army Fellows Program. “This is important to the Institute educationally and as part of increasing outreach efforts that strengthen Georgia Tech’s visibility and relationships with the U.S. Army. The Nunn School will play a direct role in equipping military leaders with the strategic tools and adaptive skills needed to analyze, understand, and respond to the changing geostrategic environment and to the technology challenges they will confront.”

One fellowship will concentrate on the strategic challenges of countering weapons of mass destruction while the other fellowship will focus on science, technology, and the future of armed conflict.

The fellows will audit classes in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs as well as have the option to audit others across the Institute. In addition to classes, the fellows will pursue independent research to address issues of critical importance to the Army and the Department of Defense. Each fellow will complete and submit a scholarly monograph or report to the Army War College and present on their findings to the Georgia Tech community in the spring.

Fellows will also have opportunities to contribute to the Sam Nunn Security Program (SNSP) through involvement in educational activities aimed at teaching doctoral students from the Colleges of Engineering, Sciences, and Computing how technology and policy interact at the national and international levels and about national security issues.

“These fellows will have a great opportunity to ingrain themselves in the Georgia Tech culture and robust scholarly community,” said Kosal. “Our campus is full of innovative researchers and thought leaders, and each of these fellows will have the opportunity to follow some of their own interests in thinking strategically and research into the changing geostrategic environment, domestic and adversarial technological pursuits, and lessons learned from past conflicts.”

The Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Strategy and Functions Fellowship will focus on understanding and enabling strategic responses to the current and future challenges from nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. While specific topics will be chosen by each fellow, areas of research may include new insights from historical programs by states and non-state actors to obtain weapons of mass destruction, analysis focusing on specific geographical regions, or the evolution and changing role of deterrence.  

The Science, Technology, and the Future of Armed Conflict Fellowship will focus on understanding the changing paradigms and factors driving new capabilities (ours, our allies', and our adversaries'), as well as analysis of the changing nature of technological progress and its impact on the nature of warfare. The fellow will gain deeper strategic and practical understanding of the significance of technology—including emerging technologies such as biotechnology, nanotechnology, cognitive neurosciences, advanced information, and computing sciences—and its diffusion for the Army and for wars in the 21st century.

Both fellows will depart Georgia Tech with better understanding and skills to shape and facilitate management of the changing global security landscape for the Army and the nation.

“Successfully being selected for these fellowships was the result of a lot of teamwork,” said Kosal. “We appreciate our partners across the Ivan Allen College, Georgia Tech, as well as the guidance from University System of Georgia Regent Larry Ellis.”

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