James D. White is Associate Director, International Programs in the Center for Advanced Communications Policy, and Senior Research Scientist in the School of Public Policy at Georgia Tech. Dr. White’s research interests focus on communications, in particular transnational information flows, global media and issues in civil society. Current research includes a collaboration with researchers at the University of Hong Kong, aimed at comparing communications at the time of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in China and the 2005 Hurricane Katrina in the U.S, and an investigation of the impact on employment possibilities of a set of key digital technologies, including wireless communication platforms, social networks; immersive digital environments, open publishing, and open source processes.

Dr. White was formerly Associate Director, Program in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance and formerly Associate Director, Globalization Research Center, both at the University of Hawaii. Recent publications include Global Media: The Television Revolution in Asia, which looks at the impact of satellite television in Asia, comparing the situation there with Europe and the United States; and Fear of Persecution: International Law, Human Rights, and the Well Being of Refugees and Displaced Persons, an edited volume which presents an overview of the plight of refugees and internally displaced persons. Prior to academia he was president of the Tokyo office of an international financial communications consultancy, and has held senior positions as an editor, consultant, writer and film director, mostly working in Asia.

Dr. White earned his doctorate from the Department of Political Science at the University of Hawaii, and received his BA in American Studies from the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom.