ODU International Studies PhD Student Earns Prestigious Scholarship from National Training & Simulation Association

Rebecca Law, a previous ODU M&S Scholar who is a doctoral candidate in International Studies, learned this week that the National Training and Simulation Association (NTSA) has awarded her the Fred Lewis Scholarship for 2016-17. This is a $10,000 scholarship to support both Rebecca's dissertation research and her participation at I/ITSEC 2016, the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation, and Education Conference in December 2016.

Ms. Law's research is summarized in the following abstract:

"Epigenetics, unlike genetics, is defined as the chemical modifications of the human genome that can alter gene activity without the changing of the DNA sequence. That is, certain circumstances cause genes to be silenced and expressed over time. Within the international system, states can follow the same epigenetic process for development.

The purpose of my dissertation is to create a formalized, agent-based model of a state's epigenetic process. In doing so, I will introduce and examine the antifragility characteristic of states. This research could allow us to anticipate who the "winners" and "losers" in the next global shock might be; additionally, this research could alter how we think about political world order and concepts such as security."