Date and Time
February 2, 2012
3:30 PM - 5:00 PM

Availability
Open to the public
No RSVP required

Ryan Ellis is a Postdoctoral Fellow at CISAC. His research focuses on contemporary debates about infrastructure security. In particular, his research examines the tension between the liberalization of infrastructure governance and the operation of resilient systems. This work considers the relationship between law, policy, and system architecture in energy, communication, and transportation networks. Additional research interests include the politics of risk and uncertainty, the role of civic engagement in national security debates, and the history and deployment of information and communication technologies.

Ryan received his Ph.D. in communication from the University of California, San Diego in 2011. His doctoral dissertation places contemporary debates about infrastructure security against the broader historical backdrop of the process of deregulation. Through an examination of the U.S. postal system, electric power grid, and freight rail network, the dissertation examines the impact of market-based reform on system resilience. Additionally, the dissertation traces the development and adoption of new security policies and technologies across infrastructure sectors. A key component of the research highlights the role non-traditional actors—including labor unions, environmental activists, and others—play in creating contemporary forms of security.

Before joining CISAC, Ryan served as a program manager at the University of California’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC) and lectured in communication law and history at the University of California, San Diego. Ryan received his M.A. in communication from the University of California, San Diego in 2005, and earned his B.A. in sociology and communication form Boston College in 2002.