Cunningham receives Mary Gates scholarship

By Luciano Marano • March 30, 2019 10:00 am
Photo courtesy of the University of Washington | Bainbridge High School graduate, Class of 2015, Conor Cunningham, now a senior at the University of Washington, was one of three of the Jackson School’s Cybersecurity Fellows who recently received Mary Gates Research Scholarships.
Photo courtesy of the University of Washington | Bainbridge High School graduate, Class of 2015, Conor Cunningham, now a senior at the University of Washington, was one of three of the Jackson School’s Cybersecurity Fellows who recently received Mary Gates Research Scholarships.

Conor Cunningham, a 2015 Bainbridge High School graduate and now a senior at the University of Washington, was one of three of the Jackson School’s Cybersecurity Fellows who recently received Mary Gates Research Scholarships to support their technology policy research.

The other two awardees are Binh Truong, and Jion Yi.

The Fellows’ research spans major contemporary technology and cybersecurity issues and their receipt of these prestigious awards is confirmation of the quality and importance of their work.

According to UW, “Cunningham is majoring in International Studies with triple minors in Russian language, French language, and Russian, East European, and Central Asian studies. Fluent in Russian and French, [he] received a Mary Gates Research Scholarship to support his work building a comprehensive dataset of all Russian political interference around the world. During spring quarter, he will begin to produce reports of his findings. Ultimately, he will make his dataset public for others to use.

“In his time as a Cybersecurity Fellow, [Cunningham] has specialized his studies to focus on international cybersecurity issues, taking Jackson School courses on the topic and participating in a Global Research Group project (previously named Applied Research Projects) for Microsoft’s Defending Democracy team on election security.”

He has also reportedly been a recipient of a Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship to fund intensive Russian study in Moscow through the Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies. He was also one of three students to represent the UW in the EU delegation to the United States’ annual Schuman Challenge, where he presented policy proposals to members of the EU delegation on arms control.

Cybersecurity Fellows have opportunities to develop deep expertise in a technology policy related topic area. They also develop professional skills such as research, writing, and public speaking. Cybersecurity Fellows are a part of the Jackson School’s Cybersecurity Initiative, which is run by Jessica Beyer and Sara Curran.