• International security
• International cooperation
• Peace studies

I am a PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of Kentucky. My research interests include nuclear politics, arms control, and international security and cooperation, more broadly. In addition to my research, I am an accomplished teacher at the University of Kentucky, being named one of the College of Arts & Sciences Outstanding Teaching Assistants for 2021-2022. 

My research broadly focuses on the relationship between nuclear technology and international cooperation and security. More specifically, I examine why states struggle to form arms control agreements that would be effective in regulating the spread of nuclear technology and other related technolgies around the globe. Additionally, I focus on the consequences that arise out of this failure to form constraining arms control agreements, specifically looking at how states can leverage their existing nuclear technology and capabilities to prevail in international crises, but also to leverage this technology for cooperative benefits. Leveraging a novel dataset on state nuclear weapon tests, I argue and find support for the notion that states use nuclear weapons tests as a form of brinkmanship, in order to win international crises, with the crisis winner being determined by which states test more nuclear weapons. This manuscript is currently (as of September 2022) under review at a peer-reviewed journal. 

For more information on my teaching and research, please see my personal website.