Current Ph.D. Students

Inspired by a polar explorer at the age of 11, Natalie has dedicated her life to climate action. She is the co-founder of V'air Sustainability Education, a social enterprise that provides nature-based climate change education for schools and corporations, reaching over 2 million people. Natalie is recognized by Eco-Business and The Japan Times as one of the most impactful sustainability leaders in Asia Pacific. Natalie's professional experience with the World Bank on a Pacific Island environmental project led her to realize the life-and-death consequences of extreme weather for vulnerable communities, sparking her research interest in climate resilience. In recognition of her climate research and advocacy efforts, Natalie has been appointed by the Hong Kong government as a member of the Council for Carbon Neutrality and Sustainable Development, the Green Tech Fund Assessment Committee, and the Country and Marine Parks Board to advise on policy decisions. As a World Economic Forum Global Shaper, Natalie initiated the Lead for Sustainability Mentorship program. She was also the sole Hong Kong representative at the Dr. Sylvia Earle Antarctic Climate Expedition, advocating for the ocean-climate crisis. 

Christian Chung is a Ph.D. student in Security Studies at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. His research examines the interplay between emerging technologies, national security, and geopolitical competition, with a focus on how states develop strategies to navigate technological change competitively and implement effective AI governance.

Prior to his doctoral studies, Christian spent over a decade in the U.S. Intelligence Community, specializing in Middle East and technology issues. He is currently a U.S. Navy Reserve Intelligence Officer, a Technology and Security Policy Fellow at RAND, a visiting fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, and a 2025 Shawn Brimley Next Generation National Security Leaders Fellow at the Center for a New American Security. A native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Christian holds BSFS and M.A. degrees from Georgetown University and is a graduate of the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California.

Alexis Dale-Huang is a PhD candidate at Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs and a Visiting Scholar at George Washington University’s Institute for Security and Conflict Studies for the 2026–2027 academic year. Alexis’s dissertation project examines why states facing existential security threats vary in their ability to implement change in military strategy, operations, and capabilities, with a regional focus on East Asia. Her other academic research examines developments in Chinese foreign policy and military strategy. During her graduate studies, Alexis has served as a Graduate Fellow at the Princeton Center for International Security Studies and a 2025–2026 Hans J. Morgenthau Fellow at the O’Brien Notre Dame International Security Center. Alexis previously served as a policy analyst at the RAND Corporation, where she researched Chinese military affairs and U.S.-China relations. She has a BA from the University of Southern California, an MA in Asian Studies from Georgetown University, and an MA in Public Affairs from Princeton University. She is proficient in Mandarin Chinese.

Born and raised in the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Agostina is a PhD student in Security Studies at SPIA and a Fulbright Scholar. Her research interests include foreign policy, nuclear policy in the Global South, security policy and militarization in Latin America. Before coming to Princeton, she was Director of Analysis of Geopolitical Transformations at the Secretariat of Strategic Affairs of Argentina where she conducted research and advised on foreign policy.

Her advisor is Miguel A. Centeno and she’s currently working on her dissertation proposal, a project in which she will study how the new roles and missions of the Armed Forces in Latin America are transforming civil-military relations.

She holds an M.A. in International Politics and Economics from Universidad de San Andrés and a B.A. in International Studies from Universidad Torcuato di Tella.

Ned is a researcher working on political economy and decarbonization pathways in China and India. He came to Princeton after his appointment as a non-resident fellow at the Columbia University SIPA Center on Global Energy Policy studying Chinese decarbonization target-setting among provinces and businesses. He previously worked at the economic consultancy Analysis Group in Boston within the energy and finance practice areas. He hopes to build a career as a policy researcher and practitioner supporting decarbonization policy in Asia.