The Frontier Security Institute (FSI) today announced the appointment of its inaugural class of fellows, a cohort of 14 distinguished experts drawn from the defense, intelligence, and technology communities. The class includes a former CIA analyst who spent a decade tracking China’s semiconductor ambitions, an award-winning wargame designer who has conducted crisis exercises for the White House, and a three-time founder specializing in software supply-chain security for defense systems, among other leaders.
The fellows join FSI as it builds out its studies and analyses aimed at helping the government protect frontier AI from theft and sabotage, field AI systems with confidence, and strengthen its position against adversaries. In an advisory role, the 14 fellows bring the defense, intelligence, and technology experience that the demands of work require — supporting the assessments, wargames, and briefings FSI produces for program offices, congressional staff, and the intelligence community.
“Frontier AI gives national security an extraordinary advantage, and these are the people who can help government seize it,” said Isaac “Ike” Harris, FSI’s executive director. “They’ve sat on the other side of the table — in program offices, on committees, in the field. They know how to turn that advantage into real decisions.”
The inaugural FSI fellows are:
- Gabriella “Gabby” Carney — former Senior Policy Advisor at the Bureau of Industry and Security, where she led interagency export-control policy on semiconductors and artificial intelligence.
- Dr. Todd Helmus — founder of Meridian Influence Group and former RAND senior scientist on influence operations, sanctioned by the Russian Federation in 2022 for that work.
- Dr. Sara Harmouch — CEO of H9 Defense and a counterterrorism and national security expert who briefs U.S. and international agencies on terrorism, emerging technologies, and unconventional threats.
- JC Herz — a Senior Commercial Advisor at DARPA with more than 20 years testing AI and autonomous systems for the Pentagon and DARPA.
- Dr. Joseph “Joe” Mait — former Chief Scientist of the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, with 30 years of federal service and had a founding role in computational imaging.
- Dr. Aaron Mannes — University of Maryland public policy scholar and former counterterrorism modeling researcher who has advised DHS, CISA, FEMA, and the National Nuclear Security Administration.
- Dr. E D McGrady — professional wargame designer, adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, and recipient of the Perla Award, the field’s highest honor.
- Dennis Murphy — incoming predoctoral fellow at Harvard’s Belfer Center and a Georgia Tech PhD candidate researching U.S.–China technology competition and advanced AI.
- James “Jim” Olson — a 34-year CIA analyst and former Director for Strategic Competition on the National Intelligence Council; a Marine Corps veteran.
- Alexander “Alex” Rubin — former CIA China Mission Center analyst who led the Agency’s analysis of PRC technology, including semiconductors and export controls.
- John M. Scott III — DARPA Senior Commercialization Advisor and three-time founder in software supply-chain security.
- Dr. Rand Waltzman — former RAND Deputy CTO and two-time DARPA program manager who created its Social Media in Strategic Communications program.
- Dr. N. Peter Whitehead — systems-engineering and space-technology expert, former RAND senior engineer and NSF/White House science-and-technology policy fellow.
- Nicholas “Nick” Wissel — Warfighting assessments expert and former U.S. Navy destroyer captain with 25 years of operational and industry experience.
FSI’s fellows will contribute across its analyses and convenings over the coming year. Additional appointments will be announced as the program grows.
About the Frontier Security Institute
The Frontier Security Institute, at the Center for AI Safety, is an independent organization that provides policy studies and analyses connecting America’s defense and intelligence leaders with the frontier AI industry to meet U.S. economic and national security needs. FSI translates the benefits and risks of frontier AI for the national security mission through third-party assessments, closed-door analysis and wargames, and neutral-ground convenings and curriculum for policymakers.
Learn more at frontiersecurityinstitute.org.
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