Originally from Idaho, Logan Dopp found his footing in DC about 10 years ago. After focusing on East Asia during undergrad, he began a professional career in counterterrorism and open source intelligence. Logan’s decision to come to SSP grew out of his interest in the overlap of emerging technologies and security. In a meeting with core faculty member Dr. Ben Buchanan, Logan learned about the host of technology focused classes and adjunct faculty that would be expanding SSP. Working with subject matter experts from the government and private sector would provide Logan with opportunities besides the classroom to engage with and learn about how emerging technologies affect national security issues.

SSP’s commitment to bringing in faculty with technological experience was a major pulling factor. "There’s a lot of programs that followed suit, but Georgetown is a stand-out leader in bringing some of that operational cyber expertise to a security degree," he says, adding that "having an understanding of how emerging technology plays a role in national power, and how areas like cyber, AI, and biotechnology really affect US national security was a huge draw for me."

In the classroom, Logan used SSP as a platform to delve into operational and hands-on tech courses. "I think in the business world there is a huge disconnect between what AI is and how it’s built, and then how it becomes operationalized," he says. "I really wanted to blend some of my classes with an understanding of how technology is built and then how to apply it."

Logan also says that his time at SSP helped him in starting his own business. He had always wanted to start his own company, and he already had experience running a nonprofit focused on clean water initiatives in Central America. He truly kickstarted his entrepreneurial dreams, however, when he took Hacking for Defense, a course where student teams do hands-on work for government partners. "I really got introduced to the fact that there are excellent business opportunities for starting companies around AI or emerging technology with an emphasis on helping the warfighter or operational missions," Logan notes.

While he had some previous experience working with US government elements, most of his career up until SSP had been around corporate security. "SSP’s introduction into how the military operates and how we think about combined operations was really helpful when I got into a business role of leading a company providing solutions to the war fighter," he adds.

Through Hacking for Defense, his team was able to work on a problem set sponsored by the Office of Naval Intelligence. This eventually developed into his current business, Cutting Edge AI, where computer vision is being used to understand domain awareness and targeting, among other aspects. He sees plenty of space left to grow in integrating AI in military operations and in using operational insights to further develop and retrain AI models.

Now more than two years old, Cutting Edge AI is involved in a number of projects. They support joint task forces on drug interdiction and domain awareness missions, and they work with special warfare communities to increase understanding of ubiquitous technical surveillance and help operators better function in environments affected by emerging AI technologies.

Beyond working with and for public organizations, however, Logan also wants to increase the technological use in the private sector in order to improve domain awareness. Logan has a passion for bridging the gap in embedding machine learning within both business and defense elements. In the long term, he strives to increase awareness among the military and business sectors of what AI is and how it is used.

Looking back on his time at SSP, Logan wishes it could have lasted longer. Occasionally, when coming back home to DC from work trips, Logan likes to go back to campus and reminisce about the experiences he had and the connections he made with both the faculty and his fellow classmates while at SSP.

As advice for current or future SSP students, Logan emphasizes the opportunity provided to students to truly dive into emerging issues and gain a foundational understanding. Beyond acquiring knowledge, however, the community that is provided to SSP students remains a major support network. Referencing the support from his professors and classmates, he says, “There is a team that has your back.”