Governance and citizenship increasingly interweave with complex digital networks and rapid technological transition. My research presumes that the ethical use of new technologies and digital security at all levels, from software to operating systems to hardware, will shape preferred futures for any global cooperative structure. My work replies to what is known today and, at the same time, is open to new scenarios that will emerge over the course of technological, economic, and social change.

I’m curious about the consequences of technological evolution on humans and society and what will delay or accelerate such progress. New technologies' role in the transformative potential of global chains of economies, as well as more intimate spaces like our bodies and health, might redefine how societies function, with legal and ethical repercussions. The accompanying challenges of cyber warfare and cybercrime are remarkable.

Security in digital spaces differs in important ways from security in physical spaces. But both digital and physical security begin with tenable and defensible boundaries. My research examines the future of boundaries, borders, and the global flow of people, goods, money, data, and machines.

Computational systems under a particular authority's control can impact intelligence, logistics, and, ultimately, authority itself. New factors are always emerging. I look equally at philosophy, technology, sociology, ecology, politics, art, and science fiction.

In the context of international affairs, current circumstances of change, such as climate and ideological dynamics, will intersect with new factors, like artificial intelligence and regulation, potentially reorganizing geopolitical positions. I'm interested in how areas of influence may be delineated, not just by territorial boundaries but also by the reach and lifecycle of computer interactions.

The familiar shorthand of border security implies tidy and corrective solutions, erasing the human experience, and doesn’t explain my interests. A reflection is necessary on boundaries' scope, shape, and prospective nature. While I try to learn how societies and states fare due to elements connected to the bordering process, there is more to this than calculating strategy games. Legal issues relevant to concepts of boundaries and intrusion, alongside principles of mobility and access, emerge as technologies advance. Means of scale, cultural interpretations of cyberspace, and "glitches" or violent political intrusions may help describe these relationships.

Examples of phenomena explaining these tensions include artifical intelligence in conflict, makeshift internet in cartel-controlled areas, mobile e-citizenships, gated futuristic New Cities in democratic and authoritarian states, freight delivery appointment apps deciding migrants' citizenship, cloud states, rescue beacons or "panic poles," Smart Border server/data localization, earth-imaging satellites, robotic sensors, planetary migration, digital exclusion, border externalization, and security surveillance information shared between states, effectively recognizing no borders at all.

I often focus on rural or remote spaces, recognizing and interpreting signals of change in typically overlooked areas. I live in the Texas-Mexico border region so, naturally, the edge of the U.S. and Latin America is my context. Lately I’ve been exploring Canadian interests, considering the vast Arctic line, high-population urban areas adjacent to the U.S., contours of shipping and communication flows, and the pervasive use of portable technology penetrating personal lives.