Highlighted Projects

National Security Innovation Scholars are competitively selected to develop independent projects tailored to their interests, guided by leaders in the field, and aimed at making real impacts to national security. Students choose topics at the intersection of their interest and expertise, and the Gordian Knot Center provides resources, mentoring, and opportunities to help them succeed.

  • Stanford DEFCON Student Network: Establish Stanford DEFCON within the Gordian Knot Center to create community and opportunity for students interested in national security innovation.
  • Women in National Security: Establish the Women in National Security Scholars program to champion initiatives to increase representation of women  in national security.
  • Maritime Monitoring - SeaLight: Utilizes technology to monitor gray-zone activities at sea, such as illegal fishing and territorial encroachments, enhancing maritime security.
  • Biotech Leadership - Strategic Enhancement of the U.S. Bioeconomy: Highlights the need for strategic investment in biotechnology to maintain U.S. global leadership in the bioeconomy.
  • Defense Tech Podcast: A podcast that fosters discussions among leaders about the current state and future of the defense science and technology sector.
  • Innovation with Allies and Partners: Driving Innovation Across U.S., Allied, and Partner Defense Ecosystems: Explores collaborations with emerging technology ecosystems across the globe to enhance U.S. defense strategies.
  • Energy Security in Supply Chains: Project Flux: Examines America’s energy supply vulnerabilities and proposes solutions to enhance resilience through partnerships and research in emerging technologies.
  • Mineral Supply Chain - Northguard: Critical Minerals for the Defense Industrial Base: Focuses on securing and improving supply chains for critical minerals essential for national security.
  • Economics of Shipbuilding - Blue Water: Investigates strategies to maintain U.S. naval supremacy by addressing production and technological changes in naval warfare.
  • Ukrainian Project Sourcing - Apollo Defense: Connects U.S. defense startups with international government product solicitations for rapid solution deployment.
  • AGI in Wargaming - Project Mithril: Prepares for the development and application of artificial general intelligence in national security through research and wargaming.
  • AI Foundation Models for - Foundation Models and National Security: Analyzes the impact of AI foundation models on national security, guiding policy and strategy development.
  • Ethical AI - Ethical AI Framework for US National Security: Aims to create an ethical framework for AI applications in national security to ensure trustworthiness and reliability.
  • Operational Interoperability - Winter Vision: Interoperable Multi-Domain Awareness: Targets improvements in operational decision-making by enhancing interoperability across various defense domains.
  • Cyberspace Strategy - Project Wǎng Yuè: Studies China’s cyberspace strategy and operations to understand its growing influence and operational tactics in cyber warfare.
  • Intelligence Technologies - Intelligence Tech: Researches the adoption and impact of new technologies within U.S. and allied intelligence operations, focusing on autonomous systems and cybersecurity.
  • Policy Analysis Tool - Policy Pulse: Develops an AI-powered system to assist DoD and government staff in efficiently navigating complex policy documents.
  • Intellectual Property Theft and Cyber Analysis - Project Kai: Provides comprehensive research on modern Chinese cyber activity and intellectual property theft  to inform policymakers and security efforts.
  • Legal Review Efficiency - Delta Review: Uses language models to expedite legal reviews in military operations, enhancing the speed and effectiveness of legal advisories.
  • Terrorism Framework Development - Project Homeland: Combines research and predictive analytics to develop frameworks for counterterrorism, focusing on terrorist recruitment and technology usage.
  • Resilient Networking Equipment - Resilient Communications for Autonomous Systems: Entrepreneurship focused project aimed at developing reliable communications for autonomous systems and promoting system interoperability.
  • Hostage Policy Reform - Breaking the Cycle: Legal Innovation for U.S. Hostage Policy: Discusses potential legal reinterpretations to address modern challenges of state-sponsored hostage-taking.
  • Field Study of Defense Acquisition Problems - Defense Tech and the Valley of Death: Analyzes and addresses the major hurdles faced by defense tech startups in scaling and deploying their innovations.
  • Industry View of Replicator - Replicator in Action: Assesses available commercial technologies for their potential to meet future military needs, particularly in autonomous operations.
  • Social Media Risks - Social Media Indicators for Mass Atrocity Risk: Studies the role of social media in escalating risks of mass atrocities and proposes preventative frameworks.
  • R&D Impact Analysis - From Emerging Technology R&D to National Security Innovation: Explores how federal R&D investments and technology transfers contribute to national security innovation.