Embry-Riddle Faculty Creates a New Forum for U.S.-Japan Space Security Collaboration

Security Studies and International Affairs faculty member Dr. Alice Dell’Era, with Drs. Elisabeth Hope Murray and Teha Cooks, recently won Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s first grant funded by the Japan Foundation to launch an ongoing speaker series addressing the importance of international diplomacy in space policy. The project aims to advance understanding of how the U.S. and Japan work together to strengthen space security and will provide Embry-Riddle students and faculty with the opportunity to engage directly with leading American and Japanese space security experts.

A central part of the grant will be visits from key space policy experts from both Japan and the U.S. who will give guest lectures open to all students, faculty, staff and the Daytona Beach community in the Spring of 2026. Guest speakers include the director of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s International Relations and Research Department, the president of the Japan Association of International Security and Trade and former expert for the Iranian Sanctions Committee of the United Nations Security Council, systems director for the Center for Space Policy and Strategy at The Aerospace Corporation and past senior defense analyst, and the former chief engineer for NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate.

The grant also includes support for the creation of a new class for students earning majors and minors in Homeland Security and Intelligence and Global Conflict Studies. This initiative will deepen understanding of U.S.–Japan cooperation, promote dialogue across borders, and inspire the next generation of policymakers, military leaders and space industry professionals.

To learn more about the Japan Foundation–funded project, please contact the Security Studies and International Affairs Department at delleraa@erau.edu.