The United States Studies Centre (USSC) is delighted to announce the addition of Ambassador Jane Hardy and Dr Frank Smith to the Centre’s Foreign Policy and Defence Program.

Ambassador Hardy joins the USSC as a Visiting Senior Fellow from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. She most recently served as Consul-General in Honolulu from 2018 to 2021 during which time she led Australia’s engagement with US Indo-Pacific Command. Drawing on a distinguished career in strategic policy and alliance management, Ambassador Hardy will be a key contributor to the Foreign Policy and Defence Program’s work on Indo-Pacific strategic issues.

Dr Smith joins the USSC as a Non-Resident Fellow. He is Professor and Director of the Cyber and Innovation Policy Institute at the US Naval War College, and was previously a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney. An expert on emerging technologies and national security, Dr Smith will add to the Program’s research portfolio on deterrence and defence policy. 

USSC CEO Professor Simon Jackman notes that “Jane and Frank each bring a wealth of experience and deep knowledge of some of the most pressing strategic policy issues facing Australia and the United States today. The calibre of their insights will add immense value to the Centre’s analysis of the alliance.”

“Ambassador Hardy boasts extensive firsthand experience with the strategic and international policy challenges facing the Indo-Pacific – including how the Australia-US alliance needs to evolve to address increasingly destabilising shifts in the regional strategic environment. Our ongoing work on deterrence and collective defence will benefit immensely from her insights and input,” says Ashley Townshend, Director of Foreign Policy and Defence.

Mr Townshend also notes that “technology is now a focal point of US-China strategic competition, with significant consequences for Australia, the alliance and the region more broadly. Frank’s work on the nexus between technology and national security will be invaluable to the Program as we continue to examine the implications of this contest for Australia and other allies and partners.”

To book a briefing or interview with one of our experts, please contact ussc.media@sydney.edu.au

Media enquiries

Taylor Mellor
T 02 9114 2622 
E Taylor.Mellor@sydney.edu.au