Laura DeNardis, professor and associate dean in American University’s School of Communication in Washington, D.C., will receive the Virginia Tech Graduate School’s 2016 Alumni Achievement Award during commencement exercises on May 12 in Cassell Coliseum.

A globally recognized internet governance scholar, DeNardis earned her Ph.D. in Science and Technology Studies from Virginia Tech, after earning a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and a master’s degree from Cornell University. 

With a background in information engineering, she studies the social and political implications of internet technical architecture and governance. Her work has been featured in such publications as Science Magazine, The Economist, New York Times, Time Magazine, Christian Science Monitor, Forbes, The Atlantic, and the Wall Street Journal. She has written several books, including "The Global War for Internet Governance," published by Yale University Press in 2014.

In a letter of recommendation for DeNardis, Virginia Tech associate professor of Science and Technology Studies Janet Abbate called her a voice of reason and insight, noting DeNardis has worked with the State Department and United Nations. Abbate said DeNardis “has contributed her expertise to policy debates on hot-button issues such as net neutrality, online privacy, freedom of expression, and cybersecurity.”

DeNardis is an affiliated fellow of the Yale Law School Information Society Project and served as its executive director from 2008-2011. She is a Senior Fellow of the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) and a frequent keynote speaker at global universities and institutions. She has previously taught at New York University and Yale Law School and currently is the director of research for the Global Commission on Internet Governance. She also is an appointed member of the U.S. Department of State's Advisory Committee on International Communications and Information Policy (ACICIP).

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