Dr. DeNardis, has received more than a million dollars in external funding to support her research. With a background in engineering and digital technology policy, her research examines the social and political implications of information technology governance and architecture, with a specialization in the human rights concerns around technical infrastructure and emerging technologies. Her current projects include: work theorizing public policy issues around the Interplanetary Internet Network (IPNSIG) initiative; research on the implications of quantum computing on human security and democracy, funded through a National Science Foundation “Quantum Fellowship;” and research on disinformation and technical infrastructure.
Policy-Engaged Research
In 2016, Slate Magazine listed Dr. DeNardis as one of the seven most influential “key people” in Internet governance, along with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Chinese President Xi Jinping. For more than two decades, she has been viewed as a global authority and thought leader in digital architecture and governance, through intellectual contributions and executive leadership in the field and as an expert advisor to industry, foundations, and government. She has done security clearance work for the U.S. Department of Defense and has been engaged in large projects for the United Nations International Telecommunication Union, the National Academies of Science, and a host of companies including IBM, AT&T, Fidelity, NASD, Siemens, Prudential, and Dreyfus, among others. She served as a State Department advisor and also the Research Director of the Global Commission on Internet Governance from 2014-2016.
Internet Governance Lab
Dr. DeNardis co-founded the Internet Governance Lab, a center at American University in Washington D.C. for evidence-based research, policy formulation, and teaching in Internet architecture and governance. Internet policy debates rank among the most important public policy areas of the 21st century, shaping civil liberties, human rights, access and inclusion, and economic development across the globe. The mission of the Internet Governance Lab is to study the implications of Internet governance approaches for society and the global economy, to advance the marketplace of ideas with original research, to inform policymakers and the public, and to train the next generation of thought leaders in this area.