Visit our website and events calendar for a complete listing of spring 2017 activities. Many of our events are captured on video and available to view on YouTube.

CIS publishes report on cybersecurity

The digital systems that control critical infrastructure in the United States and most other countries are vulnerable to attack. The Center co-published a report with the MIT International Policy Research Initiative (IPRI), that identifies the most strategic of these challenges and proposes a policy and research agenda that has the potential to achieve significantly higher levels of security in critical networks. Entitled Making America Safer: Toward a More Secure Network Environment for Critical Sectors, the 50-page report outlines strategic challenges that would greatly reduce the risks from cyber attacks in the sectors of electricity, finance, communications and oil/natural gas. Joel Brenner, the principal author of the report, is a senior research fellow at CIS and the MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL). Read more about the report here.

Technology and national security expert joins CIS

R. David Edelman, an expert on technology and its impact on national security and the global economy, has been appointed a CIS research fellow. Edelman served for six years in the White House, first as national security staff director for International Cyber Policy, and then at the National Economic Council as special assistant to the president for economic and technology policy. Edelman will direct the Institute's new Project on Technology, the Economy, and National Security (TENS). He holds a joint appointment with the Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL). TENS is housed within CSAIL's Internet Policy Research Initiative. "His experience with shaping policy on technology and national security issues is of particular interest to us, and we look forward to his helping us continue to build the critical bridge between CSAIL and CIS," said Richard Samuels, Ford International Professor of Political Science and director of CIS.

Ban Ki Moon visits CIS

Ban Ki Moon (former Secretary-General of the United Nations) visited CIS on May 4 to discuss the Korean peninsula crisis. The lunchtime conversation was attended by CIS faculty and scholars, the Japan Consul General Rokuichiro Michii, and the Korea Consul General Ohm Song-jun.

Nielsen receives Carnegie fellowship

Richard Nielsen has been named a 2017 Andrew Carnegie Fellow by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The highly competitive fellowship selected just 35 scholars in the social sciences and humanities for the prestigious award. His project will focus on Islamic authority in the Internet age.

Starr Forums address foreign policy challenges in the Trump era

The Center hosted a series of talks focused on the Trump administration's foreign policy, including: National Security & Civil Liberties: 1942 & 2017; The Fight Over Foreigners: Visas & Immigration in the Trump Era; Racing to the Precipice: Global Climate, Political Climate; Brexit, Europe, and Trump; Solving America's and China's North Korea Problem; and US & Mexico in the Trump Era. All Starr Forums are available on YouTube.

MIT Day of Action

Dan Pomeroy gave a talk on "Impacting Congress Beyond Phone Calls and Emails: Engaging on Policy." It was held as part of the MIT Day of Action, along with several other sessions on similar themes. Pomeroy is the program manager for the MIT International Policy Lab.

MISTI funds over 80 MIT faculty projects

MISTI Global Seed Funds (GSF) awardees help to solve the world’s challenges through collaborations with their international peers. In just nine years, MISTI GSF has awarded $13,343,951 to more than 540 faculty projects in over 42 countries around the world. This January, at the conclusion of the program’s 2016-2017 grant cycle, MISTI GSF awarded more than $1.6 million to 81 projects (out of 241 applications), representing five MIT schools and 24 departments across the Institute. MISTI GSF consists of a general pool of funds for projects in any country, and several country- or institute-specific funds.

MIT-Israel welcomes new faculty advisor

MIT professor Eran Ben-Joseph, head of the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, has joined the MIT-Israel Program’s current faculty director, Christine Ortiz, the Morris Cohen Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, as the program’s co-director. Working closely with MIT-Israel Managing Director David Dolev, Ben-Joseph has helped set up internships in Israel for MIT School of Architecture and Planning students; served on the MIT-Israel Seed Fund selection board; collaborated on practice-based research in Ashdod; and facilitated student presentations at the MIT Better World (Tel Aviv) event.

SSP Wednesday seminars

The MIT Security Studies Program's lunchtime lecture series included: Making the Unipolar Moment: US Foreign Policy and the Rise of the Post-Cold War Order, featuring Hal Brands (John Hopkins University); America's Military and the Rise of Guardian Forces, featuring Paula Thornhill (Rand Corporation); Triggering Crises: Explaining the Onset and Political Escalation of Militarized Inter-State Crises in South Asia, featuring Sameer Lalwani (Stimson Center); and Getting Religion Right Redux: Hypotheses on Religion and Civil War featuring Monica Toft (Tufts University). For more information, visit SSP Wednesday Seminar .