Institute of National Security
Supporting research, collaborative programming and education across disciplines to address the most pressing challenges to national security.
National security today transcends borders and battlefields. The speed of modern conflict continues to accelerate as threats such as cyberterrorism, disease, election meddling and drug addiction emerge from hostile, sometimes invisible, corners of the globe. To understand and defend against this new wave of technologically sophisticated, non-traditional combatants takes genuine partnership between academic researchers, government agencies, the military, and private industry. The Vanderbilt Institute of National Security draws on the university’s distinct record of user-inspired collaboration to create innovative solutions—and train future generations of leaders—to ensure our nation’s future safety and stability.
The Institute's Work
To achieve our objectives, the Vanderbilt Institute of National Security will focus on four primary initiatives.
The security landscape is evolving at an unprecedented pace and in unknown directions. To meet these challenges, it is imperative that we approach them in a highly interdisciplinary way.
Key Leadership
Founding Director
General (Ret.) Paul M. Nakasone
Retired U.S. Army General Paul M. Nakasone joined Vanderbilt on June 1, 2024. Previously, he served as commander of U.S. Cyber Command, Director of the National Security Agency and chief of the Central Security Service. A native of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, Nakasone is a graduate of Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota, where he received his commission through the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. He holds graduate degrees from the U.S. Army War College, the National Defense Intelligence College and the University of Southern California.
Executive Director
Douglas Adams
Douglas Adams is the Daniel F. Flowers Professor of Engineering, Distinguished Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Vanderbilt University. He is a globally recognized expert in machine and materials resilience. Previously, he founded and co-directed the Vanderbilt Laboratory for Systems Integrity and Reliability (LASIR), a 20,000 square-foot facility that is uniquely equipped and staffed for observing how engineered systems behave in realistic settings.
Summit on Modern Conflict
Each year, the Vanderbilt Summit on Modern Conflict and Emerging Threats brings together internationally recognized leaders and experts in the military and intelligence community to examine the subjects of cyber conflict, artificial intelligence, peer competition and emerging threats. General Nakasone was the Summit’s inaugural keynote speaker in 2022 and the Vanderbilt Institute of National Security is the direct result of discussions originally initiated at the event.