New Deputy Director of the Crime & Security Data Analytics Lab joins the Terrorism Research Center

The Terrorism Research Center in the Department of Sociology and Criminology welcomes Steven Windisch as Assistant Professor and Associate Director of the Crime and Security Data Analytics Lab, housed in the Terrorism Research Center.

Windisch received his doctorate in criminology and criminal justice from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2019. Previously, he was an assistant professor at Temple University, where he was involved in the Cybersecurity in Application, Research and Education Lab.

Windisch's current research uses in-depth interviews to examine threats of violence against election officials and is supported by the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology and Education, a Center of Excellence within the Department of Homeland Security. More broadly, Windisch looks at the ways in which trauma, identity formation, and experiences of interpersonal violence are linked to political extremism.

“Dr. Windisch's work contributes directly to the TRC's ongoing research and education programs,” said Jeff Gruenewald, director of the center. “He is a leading expert on topics such as online extremism and pathways out of extremist movements, and brings projects that are of great interest to our students. We are very fortunate to have him on our team.”

As deputy director of the Crime and Security Data Analytics Lab, Windisch plans to continue to expand research collaborations across the University of Arkansas campus while contributing to the mission of the Terrorism Research Center, which uses social science and data analytics to make communities safer, develop evidence-based strategies, and train the next generation of researchers, intelligence analysts, and law enforcement officials.