Christopher A. Long

Born in Rhode Island and raised in Boston, Christopher Long worked in the information technology field as a software engineer, technology trainer and support manager for several years in Boston and Miami, then enlisted as an operational intelligence analyst in the RI Air National Guard while attending Rhode Island College as a student of history (with a focus on geopolitical history). After two years training and working with the USAF, he left the service due to medical discharge and completed the requirements for his bachelor degree. Relocating to Atlanta, he then worked for the Chemistry Department of Georgia State University in an IT support role, and later technology manager for the department. After 8 years at GSU his interest in intelligence and national security issues remained strong, and he subsequently entered the History and Sociology of Technology and Science doctoral program at Georgia Institute of Technology's School of History and Sociology where he now attends full-time.

His current dissertation research, entitled "A Mirror Over the Horizon – HEXAGON as a Mechanism for Institutional Realignment in Early US Space Espionage," explores the role of the recently declassified HEXAGON satellite program in changing the shape of the United States' intelligence and space research communities.

He recently presented a paper to US Special Operations command entilted "Dragonflies in the African Bush - Security Ramifications of Low-Cost Light Attack/Air Reconnaissance Aircraft Proliferation and the Chinese Aviation Industry" as part of Georgia Tech's Sam Nunn Security Program fellowship.