Dr. Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan is Distinguished Fellow and Head of the Nuclear and Space Policy Initiative at Observer Research Foundation.  She is also the Technical Advisor for a new UN Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on Prevention of Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS) (2018-2019).  As the Senior Asia Defence Writer for The Diplomat, she writes a weekly column on Asian strategic issues.  Dr. Rajagopalan joined ORF after a five-year stint at the National Security Council Secretariat (2003-2007), where she served as Assistant Director.  Prior to joining the NSCS, she was Research Officer at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi.  She was also a Visiting Professor at the Graduate Institute of International Politics, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan in 2012. 

Dr. Rajagopalan is the author of four books including Nuclear Security in India (2015), Clashing Titans: Military Strategy and Insecurity among Asian Great Powers (2012), The Dragon's Fire: Chinese Military Strategy and Its Implications for Asia (2009).  She has also co-authored and edited five other books, including Global Nuclear Security: Moving Beyond the NSS (2018), Space Policy 2.0: Commerce, Policy, Security and Governance Perspectives (2017).  Her research articles have appeared in edited volumes, and in peer reviewed journals.