Ian Birdwell is a PhD Candidate in the Graduate Program in International Studies (GPIS) at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. His research focuses on Naval Grand Strategy and Arctic politics, including discussions of force readiness, state power narratives, policy generation, trade security, and international organization alignment. His dissertation focuses on how great powers generate, establish, and maintain sea control within regional dynamics through strategies of legitimation.

While at ODU, Ian has served as Co-Chair of the Graduate Society of International Studies Annual Research Conference Planning Committee for the 18^th and 19^th Annual Conferences. Prior to and during his studies at ODU, Ian has worked with the Center for International Maritime Security in publishing several articles on Arctic politics and security, several of which have been considered as recommended reading by the NATO Library, the U.S. Congressional Research Service, the Naval Association of Canada, and the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies. 

Ian received his MA in International Studies with a concentration in Security Studies from Old Dominion University and his BA in Government and International Politics with a concentration in Comparative Politics from George Mason University.