Tuck National Security Conference
The Tuck National Security Conference sponsored by the John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding is an in-person, one-day conference hosted on Friday, May 9, 2025 by the Tuck School of Business and Dartmouth College. The conference focuses on the strategic value chain that starts with critical minerals mined from the Earth and ending with the AI-powered applications on our smartphones. Within each of the industries (semiconductor manufacturing, critical mineral procurement/refinement, and advanced algorithm development) in this value chain, we observe frictions between government, business, venture capital, and academia that cause these groups to collaborative ineffectively. The conference is structured in two parts, with the morning focused on the sources of misaligned incentives, and the afternoon on what actions government, business, and academia have to take to align incentives. By bringing stakeholders from these industries together, we hope to discuss ways to productively work together to advance national interests. Students will be able to hear from, meet, and network with individuals from the national security space.
Ticketing
Dartmouth and Tuck students, faculty, and staff: Free
Non-Tuck/Non-Dartmouth students: Free
Industry (including government and academia) / Public: $50
Lodging and Logistics
The conference takes place in Tseng Classroom and Stell Hall at Tuck Hall, at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth in Hanover, New Hampshire.
Maps: Tuck Campus | Dartmouth Campus
Hotel Recommendations: Hanover Inn | Sixth South Street | Norwich Inn | Courtyard Marriott Lebanon
Parking:
The most convenient parking is at the Emily and Errik Anderson Parking Garage (15 Thayer Dr).
- Take W. Wheelock Street to Thayer Drive. At the traffic light on W. Wheelock, turn on to Thayer Drive, the parking garage will be on your right.
- Find the elevator on the far-left wall, and push “R”. This will take you to the street level exit.
- Exit building and go to your left.
- You will see signs for the conference as you exit the building, and along the short walk to the Raether Hall at The Tuck School of Business.
Parking is also available throughout campus. View Visitor Parking Map >
Agenda
Friday, May 9, 2025
8:55–9:00 a.m. (McLaughlin Atrium / Stell Hall)
Welcome
9:00–9:30 a.m. (McLaughlin Atrium / Stell Hall)
Morning Keynote Speaker
9:45–11:00 a.m. (Tseng)
Industry One: Semiconductors and Critical Minerals (Part 1: The Diagnosis)
A panel of government, academia, business, and venture capital discuss reasons why incentives for private sector actors and the public sector in the semiconductor/rare earth mining industries are misaligned, and to what extent the mis-pricing of geopolitical risk plays a part in the current market failure.
11:15 a.m.–12:30 p.m. (Tseng)
Industry Two: Advanced Algorithms and AI (Part 1: The Diagnosis)
A panel of government, academia, business, and venture capital discuss reasons why incentives for private sector actors and the public sector in the open source code and advanced algorithm development industry within tech are misaligned, and to what extent the mis-pricing of geopolitical risk plays a part in the current market failure.
12:30–1:45 p.m. (Tseng)
Keynote Speaker & Lunch
2:00–3:30 p.m. (Tseng)
Industries One and Two: Semiconductors and Critical Minerals, Advanced Algorithms and AI (Part 2: The Solution)
A panel of government, academia, business, and venture capital discuss ways to align public sector and private sector incentives in the semiconductor/critical mineral space and the advanced algorithm/AI space, from industry consortia to partnerships with academia/incubators to tax credits and government investments, as well as trade-offs and unintended consequences of these actions.
3:45–5:30 (McLaughlin Atrium / Stell Hall)
Cocktail Reception
Sponsors
Dartmouth Institute for Security, Technology and Society
Why Dartmouth: A History of National Security and Innovation
Dartmouth College has a storied place in the national security and innovation ecosystem. In 1956, a small group of scientists gathered at Dartmouth College for the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence, which led to the birth of artificial intelligence research. Since that moment almost 70 years ago, Dartmouth has established its place as a leader in the national security and innovation space. Dartmouth is home to The John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding, which houses the Initiative for Global Security at the Dickey Center, and the Institute for Security Technology Studies (ISTS). The Initiative for Global Security advances Dartmouth’s contributions to international security through research. ISTS is one of the leading centers for security research and development. ISTS is a member of and administers the Institute for Information Infrastructure Protection (I3P), a consortium of 24 leading academic institutions, non-profits and federal laboratories that brings industry, academia and government together to articulate and focus on problems that need to be solved to help ensure the nation’s information infrastructure is safe, secure, and robust.
Dartmouth and the Tuck School of Business have produced notable alumni in the national security space, Ambassador at Large for Cyberspace and Digital Policy Nathaniel C. Fick, former Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn III, US Senator Tina Smith, and Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics Mike Pyle, among many others. Dartmouth and Tuck are incredibly excited to continue growing the relationship between Dartmouth and the Tuck School of Business and the national security apparatus.
Questions? Contact Arjun Sarathy T’25 at arjun.sarathy.tu25@tuck.dartmouth.edu or (781) 301-1368.