Overview
Avishai Melamed is a PhD Student at Cornell University’s Department of Government, in the International Relations subfield, and a graduate fellow at the Brooks School Tech Policy Institute. His research focuses on the politics of emerging technologies, innovation, and space policy. He has published in journals including Space Policy, Acta Astronautica, and the Journal of Space Safety Engineering and written for Brookings TechStream and the Center for Space Policy and Strategy. His research projects have received funding from the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, International Academy of Astronautics, Cornell Center for Social Sciences, and the Judith Reppy Center for Peace and Conflict Studies. Avishai holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science -- International Relations and History from University of California, San Diego.
Research Focus
I specialize in the topics of international security, the political economy of security, and the politics of technology, with concentrations in innovation and space technologies. Currently, I explore how geopolitical competition shapes American grand strategy by directing its research and development funding for technological innovation. In additional projects, I explore the role of critical and emerging technologies in international conflicts and political economy of the space technologies sector. My research stands at the intersection of international relations and science-technology studies and, as a mixed-methods scholar, I employ both quantitative (econometric, experimental) and qualitative (historical, archival) methods in support of my research.