Zena Assaad

Dr Zena Assaad is a Fellow at UNIDIR’s Security and Technology Programme. She is an Associate Professor in Engineering at the Australian National University and holds a PhD and bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering.

She has held fellowships with the Australian Army Research Centre and Trusted Autonomous Systems, where her research explored the safety of critical technologies in safety-critical domains, with a focus on systems engineering practices. She is currently focused on topics related to autonomy and AI in military systems.

Prior to joining UNIDIR, Zena served as a member of the expert advisory group for the global commission on responsible AI in the military domain. She is currently an Ambassador for the Responsible by Design initiative of Article 36 Legal, serves on the independent advisory board on legal reviews as a technical expert, and sits on the World Police Summit board of trustees.

She has received multiple distinctions, including being named one of the “Top 10 Women in AI” in Asia-Pacific by AI Magazine, the Tech Stewardship Award from Vogue Australia, the 2023 Women in AI Award for Defence, and recognition as one of the “100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics” for 2023. She is also the host of the Responsible Bytes podcast.

Zena is fluent in English and Lebanese Arabic.