Current Students

David is a Ph.D. student in Security Studies and a Fellow at the Center for International Security Studies. David’s doctoral work lies at the intersection of regime typology and international law compliance. Prior to coming to Princeton, David graduated from Swarthmore College with a B.A. with honors majoring in political science with a minor in Asian studies. After Swarthmore, he attended London School of Economics and Political Science, where he earned a Master of Science in international relations as a Cunningham Scholar. His research at LSE, theorized a connection between political economic structures such of state-led capitalism and geopolitical revision. Most recently, David earned his Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was a Keller Scholar. His research and coursework focused on questions of public international law, the law of war, international human rights, and the Use of Force. Professionally, David has accompanied his academic pursuits holding roles as a research assistant at the University of Pennsylvania and Georgetown University, and most recently as a legal intern for the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. 

Sydney Leigh Smith (she/her) is a PhD student in Security Studies at Princeton University, co-advised by Kim Lane Scheppele and Barbara Buckinx. She specializes in conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), child soldier recruitment and reintegration, international human rights, and humanitarian law. She holds a B.A. in International Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies from the University of Michigan and an M.A. in Human Rights Studies from Columbia University. Sydney applies feminist research methodologies to inform policy and legal reform, with a particular focus on sexual violence in conflict settings and the often overlooked victims and perpetrators of CRSV.

Currently, Sydney serves as Principal Researcher for the All Survivors Project (ASP) and the UN Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC). At Princeton’s Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, she is the Gender and Security Fellow and Convener, as well as an Africa Program Fellow and Graduate Advisor. She is also a Contributor for Global Voices, chairs the Africa Policy Network at Princeton University, and serves as President of the Princeton Pet Society.

Her research journey into CRSV began at the Peace Research Institute Oslo, where she contributed to the development of a comprehensive global dataset on state-perpetrated sexual violence. She later served as Lead Researcher at the Clooney Foundation for Justice, where she supported strategic litigation initiatives addressing gender-based violence across Africa. As a Legal Researcher and Advisor at the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, she contributed to the design of data tools supporting the African regional human rights system and provided research on legal issues affecting the rights of women and girls. She previously served as an International Legal and Policy Consultant with the Democratic Governance and Rights Unit (DGRU) at the University of Cape Town, where she supported the Judicial Institute for Africa (JIFA) and AfricanLII programs with expertise in African international law, governance, and policy.

Beyond her academic and professional work, Sydney is deeply committed to advocacy and community engagement. She volunteers with Planned Parenthood of Greater New York, The Sato Project, and Liberty in North Korea. In her free time, she enjoys taking long walks with her rescue dogs, Baby and Barnaby.

Calvin is a third-year Ph.D. student in the Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy (STEP) program. He is a member of the Behavioral Science and Policy Lab and is advised by Dr. Elke Weber. In his research, Calvin investigates the sociopolitical dynamics of energy transitions in the U.S., China, and Germany. Ultimately, he aims to facilitate a more nuanced understanding of energy policies across these three countries and improve the management of sociopolitical responses in energy transitions. Previously, Calvin worked as a power market reform intern at RMI, an energy and environmental policy intern at China Policy, and a transportation system analyst at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Calvin holds a master’s degree in China studies from Peking University and a B.S. in Business Administration from The Ohio State University.

Silas is a PhD student in the Science, Technology, & Environmental Policy cluster. He is advised by Dr. Wei Peng and Dr. Jesse Jenkins.

His research is focused on energy system modeling, combining optimization, economics, and policy analysis to develop tools that evaluate emissions reduction goals, inform investments in new technologies, and guide planning for new energy infrastructure. He is interested in improving these tools to better represent sources of disruption and deployment frictions in the energy system.

Prior to Princeton, Silas was based in San Francisco working for the Electric Power Research Institute. He was also a research assistant at the Center for Global Energy Policy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. He holds a BS in Environmental Engineering and a BA in Philosophy from Columbia University.

Melissa is a Ph.D. student in the Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy program, focusing on climate policy and behavior. Prior to joining the Princeton community, she worked for five years as the Sustainability Program Manager in the Office of Sustainability at Swarthmore College, where she developed innovative programs related to climate change, zero waste, and environmental justice. During this time, she also completed a part-time master’s degree in sustainable urban development at the University of Oxford. Her master's thesis applied urban governance theories to strategic planning for sustainability, with a case study of the Philadelphia metropolitan area. She previously worked at the Center for Research on Environmental Decisions at Columbia University, and holds a B.A. in psychology from Swarthmore.