I am an Assistant Professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at the Georgia Institute of Technology, a faculty affiliate at the Nunn School’s Center for Space Policy and International Relations, a Carnegie China Fellow, and a Public Intellectuals Program Fellow with the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. Previously, I was an Assistant Professor for the West Space Seminar at the U.S. Air War College.
My research focuses on Chinese foreign policy and security, the politics of outer space, public opinion, and issues of status and nationalism in world politics. My book, China’s Quest for Space Power: National Narratives and the Domestic Politics of Status (Cornell University Press, Forthcoming) explains how and when Chinese leaders prioritize costly status projects in the space domain, and the consequences of these pursuits. My peer-reviewed research has been published in Texas National Security Review, Research & Politics, Space Policy, and New Space. I have also written in outlets such as the Washington Post, The Washington Quarterly, War on the Rocks, and War on the Rocks, among others.
I have received Georgia Tech’s Student Recognition of Excellence in Teaching and the 2025 Distinguished Teaching Award for the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts. My commentary has appeared frequently in outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, BBC, NPR, CBS News, Wired, MIT Technology Review, The Financial Times, and Bloomberg.
I received a PhD in Government from Cornell University, an MA in International Relations from the American University School of International Service, and a BA in Foreign Affairs and East Asian Studies from the University of Virginia.