GNSI Tampa Summit

It's one of the seminal challenges of our times: forging a lasting peace in the Middle East, a region beset by violence and war for hundreds of years.

GNSI Tampa Summit 4, featuring the 10th Great Power Competition Conference, will examine the extreme obstacles standing in the way of such a peace and try to discover new ways to approach the issues.

Date: September 24-25, 2024
Location: Tampa campus, University of South Florida
Title: Untying the Gordian Knot: Envisioning Peace in the Middle East
Venue: Marshall Student Center
Admission: Free and open to the public
Attendance: In-Person
NOTE: Day 2 was cancelled because of Hurrican Helene.

Amid the enduring security crisis in the Middle East, an urgent need arises to contemplate novel strategies for great power cooperation alongside competition in pursuit of peace and stability. Navigating through this turbulent landscape demands a comprehensive understanding of how various rivals, competitors, and allies of the United States are advancing their interests through economic, diplomatic, informational, and military inroads in this complex and crucial region.

The University of South Florida Global and National Security Institute (GNSI), in partnership with the U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM), is proud to sponsor the fourth Tampa Summit and tenth bi-annual conference on the Great Power Competition (GPC).

This two-day conference will feature keynote speakers and panel discussions, with ample opportunities for informal dialogue and networking. The focal point is to address ongoing security challenges in the Middle East, emphasizing strategic competition, sustainable conflict resolution, and innovative pathways to international cooperation within the US Central Command Area of Responsibility.

This bi-annual conference series facilitates a platform for diverse perspectives. It aims to tackle the most pressing issues and obstacles facing the United States across tactical, strategic, and policy domains, ensuring that global security remains resilient in the face of emerging threats.

9th Great Power Competition Conference // Signature Event
GNSI Tampa Summit 3 examines the revolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as it transforms the very nature of great power competition, conflict, and international cooperation. Competing effectively in this disruptive environment requires understanding how the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and other U.S. rivals are strategically integrating AI technology across economic, diplomatic, information, and military sectors. To meet this challenge, the ninth GPC conference has gathered senior government officials, academic experts, and private industry leaders to examine how great powers such as China are deploying AI, particularly in the pivotal US Central Command Area of Responsibly (AOR), and how the US can respond to these challenges in terms of strategic competition, conflict mitigation, national security, and international cooperation.

Keynote Presentations:

• Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, Deputy Commander, U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM)
• General Bryan Fenton, Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM)
• Dr. Craign Martell, Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer, U.S. Department of Defense (DOD)
• Ylli Bajraktari, President/CEO, Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP)

Other Featured Speakers:
• Florida Congresswoman, Laurel Lee, Florida 15th District
• Dr. Kathleen Hicks, Deputy Secretary of Defense, U.S. Department of Defense (DOD)
• General (Ret) Frank McKenzie, Executive Director, Global and National Security Institute and former commander U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM)
• The Honorable Kirstjen Nielsen, former Secretary of U.S. Homeland Security
• Dr. Prasant Mohapatra, Provost and Chief Academic Officer, University of South Florida

Special Breakout Sessions:
Medical Integration of Artificial Intelligence
Dr. Haru Okuda, Executive Director, USF Health, Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS)

Europse, Russia and AI-Enabled Security Threats
Dr. Golfo Alexopoulos, Director, Institute for Russian, European and Eurasion Studies (IREES), University of South Florida

Artificial Intelligence Simulation / Wargame
Walter Kulzy, Senior Operations Research Scientist, Johns Hopkins University

AI: What's Next?
Dr. Robert Hammond, Director, Center of Marketing and Sales Innovations, University of South Florida

8th Great Power Competition Conference // Signature Event
The second GNSI Tampa Summit focused on the specific threats and challenges confronting U.S. national security from the exponential advances in uncrewed and autonomous systems over the past 20 years. Commanders on the ground are grappling with a new era of warfare. But the use of these systems also brings its own dilemmas, challenges and questions. This event took a look into the future use and ethical considerations surrounding the use of these new and increasingly-relied upon systems.

Keynote Presentations:
• Major General (Ret) Charles Dunlap, Jr - Executive Director, Center on Law, Ethics and National Security at Duke University
• Lieutenant General Alexus Grynkewich - Commander, Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) and Combined Forces Air Component Commander for U.S. Central Command, Southwest Asia
• General Michael "Eric" Kurilla - Commander, U.S. Central Command
• Dr. Stefanie Tompkins - Director, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

Other featured speakers are scheduled to include:
• Rhea Law, President, USF
• Dr. Eric Eisenberg, Senior VP University-Community Partnerships, USF
• General (Ret) Frank McKenzie, Executive Director, GNSI and Cyber Florida
• Caitlin Lee, Director and Senior Political Scientist, RAND Corporation
• Dr. Roger Kangas, Academic Dean, NESA
• Schuyler Moore, Chief Technology Officer, U.S. Central Command
• David Des Roches, Assistant Professor, NESA
• Laura Cressey, Director, Office of Regional Security and Arms Transfers, U.S. State Department
• Lt. Colonel Joseph Chapa, Chief Responsible AI Ethics Officer, United States Air Force
• Jennifer McCardle, Adjunct Senior Fellow, Defense Program, Center for New American Security (CNAS)

7th Great Power Competition Conference // Signature Event

Recognizing that integrated deterrence is not constrained by geography, the 7th Great Power Competition Conference (GPC7)  will focus on the specific threats and challenges confronting U.S. national security and foreign policy emanating from China. China's aggressive posture affects global economics and influences strategic policy issues. Efforts to expand their influence through the One Belt One Road initiative and their exploits to shape global perceptions by dominating the information and cyber domains directly affect the U.S. and allied influence and relationships globally. GPC7 will explore critical questions facing the U.S. in the wake of China's growing expansion, such as how different stakeholders perceive China's rise and how they have reacted to it, and what the U.S can do to counter China's rapid influence and power in the Central Region. 

The signature, Great Power Competition Conference,  is sponsored by the University of South Florida (USF), in partnership with the USF College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), the National Defense University's Near East and South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies and the U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM)

2023 U.S. Central Command Central and South Asia DMI Conference (March 7)

The Summit is extended an additional day this Spring, as we've added an additional event: the U.S. Central Command Central and South Asia Directors of Military Intelligence Conference 2023. This highly sought-after event will be open to the public (but not live-streamed) and will enable GNSI Tampa Summit to look at implications for the Central Region from the perspective of two Great Powers, not just one. The DMI Conference on March 7 will examine Russia's increasingly complex and assertive actions in the Central Region, as it seeks to challenge the U.S. and China for influence among the 21 member nations of the Central Region.