Rob Downes

Dr Robert J Downes is a Research Associate at the Policy Institute at King’s, with broad interests in defence, security, and nuclear issues. 

Alongside research as a MacArthur Foundation-funded Fellow at the Centre for Science and Security Studies, he lectured extensively on unconventional terrorism and other contemporary issues in science and security in the Department of War Studies from 2015-2018. During this time, Rob supported the delivery of executive education and human capacity building in nuclear security throughout South and South East Asia and the MENA region under the auspices of the United States' State Department, the United Kingdom's Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

By training, Rob is a mathematician: he holds a PhD in mathematics from University College London. Prior to his position at King's College London, he has worked at the Bartlett Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis at University College London, the United Kingdom's former Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the United Kingdom's Government Office for Science, and the House of Lords.