Nicholas Gross, a third-year Ph.D. student in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), has been selected as a Sam Nunn Security Fellow by the Georgia Tech Center for International Strategy, Technology, and Policy.

Participants in this competitive program go through an intensive year-long training process, in which they research how to address national and international security issues. The fellowship includes a trip to Washington, D.C. to meet with policy and government experts.

Gross works in the LF Radio Lab, where he is advised by ECE Assistant Professor Morris B. Cohen. Gross’ research focuses on accurately assessing propagation conditions of Very Low Frequency (VLF, 3-30 kHz) radio waves, which can travel many thousands of miles around the world.

There are both scientific as well as engineering applications of Gross’ work, including implications to national security like submarine communications and navigation in GPS-denied areas. His work uses a continental-scale network of VLF radio receivers, coupled with machine learning algorithms and theoretical models, to attempt to assess and predict the propagation of any VLF wave across the continent.

Gross’ background includes internships at the Naval Research Laboratory, as well as with a private-sector defense contractor, so he is well positioned to make a security policy contribution through this fellowship and beyond.