Principal Investigator
Professor James Der Derian
James is the Director of the Centre for International Security Studies and Michael Hintze Chair of International Security at the University of Sydney. He writes books and makes documentaries on war, diplomacy and media.
Co-Investigators
Associate Professor Jairus Grove
Jairus is an associate professor of political science at the University of Hawaii and Director of the Center for Futures Studies. His research focuses on the relationship between technology and global politics, specifically the transformative effects of disruptive technologies and the ways technical innovations can undermine political order and challenge governance systems. He is interested in the ways war continues to expand, bringing an ever greater collection of participants and technologies into the gravitational pull of violent conflict. Jairus is co-editing the Project Q e-book on the societal, strategic and ethical implications of a quantum revolution in computing, communications and artificial intelligence.
Professor Frank Smith
Frank is a member of the Centre for International Security Studies and the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney and co-founder of the Sydney Cybersecurity Network. He is currently based in the United States, where he is Professor in the Strategic and Operational Research Department and Director of the Cyber and Innovation Policy Institute at the U.S. Naval War College. Previously, he was a research fellow with the Griffith Asia Institute and a pre-doctoral fellow with the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University. He has a PhD in political science and a BS in biological chemistry, both from the University of Chicago. Frank is co-editing the Project Q e-book on the societal, strategic and ethical implications of a quantum revolution in computing, communications and artificial intelligence.
Professor Alexander Wendt
Alex is Mershon Professor of International Security and Professor of Political Science at The Ohio State University. He is interested in philosophical aspects of social science, with special reference to international relations. Alex’s book, Quantum Mind and Social Science, explores the implications for social science of the possibility that consciousness is a macroscopic quantum mechanical phenomenon – in effect, that human beings are walking wave functions. Alex is co-editing Project Q’s special issue of Security Dialogue and a collected volume of essays on the significance of quantum theory for the social sciences.
Professor Colin Wight
Colin a Professor in the Department of Government and International Relations within the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Sydney. His research interests originate in the desire to explore and understand the fragmented nature of International Relations theory and to embed this understanding in wider intellectual and public debates. Colin is is co-editing the Project Q e-book on the societal, strategic and ethical implications of a quantum revolution in computing, communications and artificial intelligence.
Project Coordinators
Claire Stevens
Claire is an experienced project officer with expertise in higher education management, marketing and stakeholder engagement. She has enjoyed a successful career in the University sector for nearly ten years. Previously Claire worked at the University of Sydney as Senior Project Officer for the interdisciplinary research centre, the Sydney Social Sciences and Humanities Advanced Research Centre (SSSHARC). In that role, she was responsible for providing project management advice and operational support to project teams within a multi-faceted program of work across the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Claire has also worked at The Law Society of NSW and City, University of London.
José Torrealba
José is a graduate of the Concordia University with a BFA in film production, and has extensive experience in film production and film festival coordination. José finished a Master in Media Arts and Production at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) a couple of years after moving to Australia in 2013. He is currently a media officer at the Centre for International Security Studies, organising the media production and editing for a variety of projects and events. José is involved in the production and editing of a variety of videos for Project Q, which includes producing the Project Q: A Question of Quantum documentary film.
Media Production Team
Daisy De Windt
Daisy is the Business Manager of Conceptavision: an end-to-end video production house. She works behind the scenes to manage Conceptavision’s input into Project Q. She worked on small and large projects in the health sector for over 10 years before joining Conceptavision and is a certified project manager (PRINCE2 and CAPM). Daisy holds tertiary qualifications in Biomedical Science, Business and Health Law and is passionate about projects that fuse science and the arts.
Jack McGrath
Jack has a background in Fine Arts from the University of Sydney and has lectured in film and animation for a number of years at the University of Sydney, Sydney Film School, Australian Film Television and Radio School, and The University of Technology Sydney. He has written and directed a wide range of short films that have been screened around Australia and internationally. He is the Director of Conceptavision and has collaborated with the CISS team on the film and documentation aspects of Project Q.
Research Assistants
Nicholas Harrington
Nicholas is a PhD candidate with the University of Sydney. His dissertation compares the philosophical foundations of Thomas Hobbes and Niels Bohr, with the ultimate purpose of developing an approach to the political based upon Bohr’s theory of Complementarity. The research concerns epistemology and ontology; ideational development; the history, philosophy, and sociology of science; and, the rational development of political systems. Previously, Nicholas wrote an honours dissertation on the path dependency and institutional development of the European Union, for which he was awarded the university medal.
Elija Perrier
Elija is a doctoral candidate at the Centre for Quantum Software and Information at the University of Technology Sydney. Elija’s doctoral research focuses on the field of quantum machine learning, including quantum algorithm design, geometric and statistical learning theory and quantum control. Elija has a multi-disciplinary background, holding an LLB / BA (Hons) (English/Cultural & Communication Studies) from Murdoch University along with a BSc (Physics/Mathematics) (Hons) & BA (Economics/Philosophy) from the University of Sydney. Elija works as a research assistant in the School of Economics at the University of Sydney, as a practising lawyer, tutor in constitutional law and jurisprudence at Macquarie University and as a data scientist focusing on political science. Elija has published research on computer science, public policy and a range of other topics and has presented research at a number of conferences nationally and internationally.
Stuart Rollo
Stuart is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Centre for International Security Studies at the University of Sydney. His research focuses on geopolitics, imperial history, and the US-China relationship. He is currently investigating the geopolitical implications of quantum technology as part of the CISS Quantum Meta-Ethics project. Stuart writes regularly on international affairs, politics, and cultural issues in Australian and international media.
Gabi Skoff
Gabi is an impact-focused researcher and writer invested in bridging the gap between the social and the technical. Her work focuses on the intersection of emerging technologies and social sustainability, investigating the current and future social, political and ecological impacts of quantum and blockchain technologies. She works as a Content Developer for Project Q and for Topl, a Houston-based ImpacTech startup. Gabi holds a Master of International Development from the University of Sydney and a Bachelor from New York University, where she specialised in International Relations and Sociology. Gabi has lived and worked in the United States, Argentina, Australia and the Netherlands. She is currently based in Melbourne, Australia.
Lucy Sunman
Lucy is a practising solicitor and holds a Bachelor of Laws with Honours from the University of New South Wales. Lucy also completed the International Human Rights Law Summer School at the University of Oxford and holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and Government and International Relations from the University of Sydney. She is currently undertaking a Masters of Philosophy at the University of Sydney, examining virtual counterterrorism policy. In addition to counterterrorism studies, Lucy’s research interests include international law, the law of war, and Australia’s foreign and defence policy.
Aleksa Vulovic
Aleksa holds a Bachelor of International and Global Studies with First-Class Honours from the University of Sydney. He is a current PhD candidate at the University of Sydney and his research interests include: Virtual Warfare, Media Politics, Cybernetics and Utopias. Alongside his PHD studies, Aleksa works as a freelance filmmaker responsible for a number of viral, political documentaries.
Jayson Waters
Jayson Waters holds a Master in International Relations from the University of Sydney and a Bachelor of International Studies from Macquarie University. His research interests include: non-ordinary phenomena, time, non-linear causality, and all things quantum. In addition to pursuing a PhD at the University of Sydney on the topic of ‘Quantum International Relations,’ Jayson assists Professor James Der Derian with Project Q and its subsidiaries.
Website Coordinator
John Mazza
John is a web designer/developer living in Providence, Rhode Island. He holds a BA in Digital Art and Design from the University of Rhode Island, along with an MA in Media Studies from Rhode Island College. Aside from his work on Project Q and various other freelance projects, John currently works full time as the Manager of Web and Multimedia Technology for the The Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University.