Dr. Sebastian Elbaum is an adjunct senior fellow for emerging computing technologies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). He is also a professor in the department of computer science at the University of Virginia, where he cofounded and co-leads the Lab for Engineering Safe Software. He is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), recognized for his contributions to the analysis and testing of evolving and robotic systems.

Elbaum’s current research focuses on the development and analysis of safe autonomous systems, including those with AI components. His work has earned him numerous accolades, including a National Science Foundation Career Award, a Google Faculty Research Award, an FSE Test of Time Award, and multiple best paper awards. He is also an Amazon Scholar and the co-founder of Drone Amplified, Inc., a company specializing in developing drone payloads and applications. Before joining the University of Virginia, he was a professor at the University of Nebraska and spent sabbaticals as a research scientist at Google, CNR, and University College London. He regularly serves on, and has chaired, program committees for top software engineering, robotics, and artificial intelligence conferences and has held editorial roles for academic journals.

At CFR, Dr. Elbaum focuses on the national security implications of emerging computing technologies. His analysis has appeared in publications such as Foreign Affairs magazine, and he has published over a hundred and fifty papers in premier scientific venues.