We often hear about the extraordinary benefits of new biotechnologies and nanotechnologies, but they are also potential game changers for national security. How such cutting edge technologies could be exploited by those who intend harm and how the U.S. and its allies can employ them for defense is a focus for Margaret E.Kosal. 

An assistant professor in The Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, Kosal recently returned to campus after serving as an advisor to the Chief of Staff of the Army, General Ray Odierno, as part of his inaugural Strategic Studies Group (SSG). The group was charged with conducting independent, unconventional, and revolutionary research and analysis to generate innovative strategic and operational concepts for land forces.

Kosal spearheaded research focused on challenges ten to twenty-five years in the future considering both the strategic and operational roles of emerging technologies.

“My team examined the challenges faced by the military and the limits of conventional forces,” explained Kosal. “We developed new concepts for design and deployment of U.S. ground forces and models for integration across joint, interagency, inter-governmental, and multi-national environments.” 

A 500-page report that Kosal and her colleagues submitted to the Chief of Staff of the Army this past summer is unclassified, but has not been publicly released.

Kosal was the only academic among the SSG cohort, which included twenty hand-picked officers and a few civilians. She was selected for her skills in working and communicating across disciplines, bringing about strategic change, and building successful coalitions internally and with other federal agencies.

Inspired by the experience, Kosal has launched a new initiative to strengthen Georgia Tech’s partnership with the U.S. military in this arena.  The initiative will explore research and educational programs aimed at equipping military officers with the tools and adaptive skills needed to analyze, understand, and respond to a changing geostrategic environment and domestic and adversarial technological pursuits.

“After more than decade at war, the U.S. Military is entering a period of transition,” said Kosal. “The nation’s armed forces have the opportunity to pursue change in preparation for future conflicts. It is clear that we need to develop new tools and capacities for effective deterrence and response to existing and new threats.”

Kosal emphasized that a better understanding of the complex and interdependent relationships of defense science and technology is needed. The Nunn School, its faculty, and collaborating researchers are well-positioned to conduct research explaining how these phenomena intersect and potentially impact U.S. policy and national security.

Margaret E. Kosal is among the foremost experts on the weapons of mass destruction and the national security implications of emerging and dual-use technologies. Her research focuses on two often intersecting areas: reducing the threat of weapons of mass destruction and understanding the role of emerging technologies for strategy and governance. Work like Kosal’s facilitates understanding of the multi-faceted ways that technology affects military strategy and innovation.