Since 2000, the Triangle Institute for Security Studies (TISS) – a consortium of UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke, and North Carolina State University - has hosted an annual two-day conference called the “Junior and Interdisciplinary Faces of International Security.” The objective of the TISS “New Faces” project is to foster a generation of future leaders capable of bringing to bear on national problems keen powers of analysis and an ability to communicate with a wide range of audiences. To that end we invite a small group of scholars from a variety of fields to speak at our “New Faces” Conference. They are chosen from a pool of applicants from across the nation and beyond. If they come from the United States or Canada, their travel expenses are paid for by TISS. There is no registration fee.

To qualify to speak at this event, students must have just completed, or be nearing completion of, their dissertations and must have a record of proven excellence. At the conference the participants give what amounts to an “off-Broadway” preview of their job talk. After each presentation, a faculty member and a graduate student (one from within the speaker’s field, the other from without) offer focused comments. The participant then engages in an extended question and answer session with the audience, composed of an eclectic mix of local faculty, graduate students, and members of the Triangle Institute for Security Studies.

Our next conference will be held on Friday, September 14 and Saturday, September 15, 2011 at the Friday Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. You are warmly invited to apply – the deadline is April 10th, 2012. Application forms and further details about the program can be found by going to the TISS web site and following the links from the home page – www.tiss-nc.org.