Nicole Roy

Brumley Fellow

Nicole Roy is a second-year Master of Global Policy Studies student at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, where her research focuses on the intersection of emerging technology and security policy. On campus as a Texas Lyceum Fellow, she was able to present her AI policy research on a conference panel, contributing to public conversations about how emerging AI laws and regulations can be implemented ethically and effectively.

Earlier in her academic career, Nicole worked as an organic chemistry research assistant. She also helped develop a life detection method to classify unknown substances in space using a machine learning algorithm and molecular fingerprinting. Nicole loves teaching as much as researching. For three semesters, she has guided first-year college students in writing science reports and presenting policy proposals, while helping them discover the joy of asking big questions about the natural world.

As a Brumley Fellow, Nicole is exploring how governments and international institutions navigate the national security risks of deep sea mining and autonomous ocean defense technologies in the era of hybrid warfare. In this role, she will be mentored by Applied Research Laboratories’ Signal and Information Sciences Laboratory Director Marcia Isakson.