Bio
Prof. R. Aubrey Davis III is an Assistant Professor of Law at the U.S. Air Force Academy. He serves as the Director of Law and Emerging Technology Programs for the Law, Technology, and Warfare Research Cell and as the Deputy Department Head for Academics for the Department of Law. He teaches Law and Emerging Technology, International Law, and the Academy core law course. His research interests focus on the nexus between emerging technologies such as Ai, Quantum Information Sciences and their impact on domestic and international legal, policy, and regulatory regimes. He is a former Aviator and Judge Advocate where he was privileged to serve in leadership positions at multiple command levels while engaging in global military operations.
Education
Leading Data and AI-Enabled Organizations Executive Program, Johns-Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering Applied Physics Laboratory (2023).
Air War College, by correspondence (2018)
Air Command and Staff College, by correspondence (2012)
Master of Laws (LL.M.), The Army Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School at UVa, Charlottesville, Va. (2015)
Squadron Officer School (Top Third), in residence, Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Ala. (2006)
Juris Doctor, Gonzaga University School of Law, Spokane, Wash. (2003)
Master of Arts (Political Science), University of Montana, Missoula, Mont. (2003)
Bachelor of Arts, Northern Michigan University / Olympic Education Center (Biathlon), Marquette, Mich. (1995).
Professional Experience
Assistant Professor, Department of Law, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo. (June 2022 − Present)
Chief, Cyber Law Branch, Air Combat Command, Joint Base Langley Eustis, Hampton, Va. (2019 – 2021)
General Counsel (Staff Judge Advocate (SJA)), 50th Space Wing, Schriever AFB, Colorado Springs, Colo. (2017-2019)
Chief Legal Officer / LEGAD, 607th Air Operations Center (U.S. Forces Korea / UNC) Osan AB, Pyeongtaek, Republic of Korea (2016-2017)
Assistant General Counsel, 7th Air Force (U.S. Forces Korea / UNC) Osan AB, Pyeongtaek, Republic of Korea (2015-2016)
LL.M. Candidate, The Army Judge Advocate’s Legal Center and School at UVa, Charlottesville, Va. (2014-2015)
Deputy General Counsel (Deputy SJA), 31st Fighter Wing, Aviano AB, Friuli-Venezia Giulia (FVG), Italy (2010-2014)
Assistant General Counsel (Ops/International), Headquarters Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), Hurlburt Field, Fla. (2008-2010)
Area Defense Counsel, Holloman AFB, N.M. (2006-2008)
Assistant General Counsel, Moody AFB, Ga. (2004-2006)
Honors & Awards
United States Air Force Academy Superintendent’s Leader of Character Certificate (2025)
Quarterly Award SocSci Division: Law, Technology and Warfare Research Cell (Team Lead) (Q1 2025).
Space Operations Command Legal Office of the Year 2019
US Air Forces Europe Albert M. Kuhfeld Outstanding Young Judge Advocate of the Year Nominee 2013 (Second award)
US Air Forces Europe Albert M. Kuhlfeld Outstanding Young Judge Advocate of the Year Nominee 2012
Company Grade Officer of the Year, Wing Staff Moody AFB, GA 2005
US Army Aviator Badge
General Douglas McArthur Leadership Award: State of Montana
Research and Scholarly Interests
International Law, Space Law, Emerging Technology, Innovation.
Publications
Averting an AI Enron: Sarbanes-Oxley as a Choice Reporting Architecture for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Design, 105 Oregon L. Rev ____ (forthcoming fall 2026).
Space Law and Policy, 13th Annual Arizona State Law Governance of Emerging Technology and Science (GETS) Conference, Phoenix AZ (May 21, 2026).
Defining Deference: Impacts of Abandoning Chevron on Emerging Technology Governance and Administrative Law, 48 Seattle U. L. Rev. 821 (2025).
US Space Policy and Governance, Economist 3rd Annual Space Economy Summit, Orlando, FL (Nov, 2025).
Learning from Emerging Technology Governance for Guiding Quantum Technology, 31 Richmond J. L. Tech. 266 (2025) (with Professor Gary Marchant, et. al.).
Quantum AI: Legal and Strategic Risks of Intelligent Hybrid Systems, Quantum World Congress, Washington DC (Sep. 17, 2025).
All is Not Lost: Can Quantum Technology Create Jam-Proof Navigation Systems in GNSS-Denied Environments?, Economist Commercialising Quantum Global, London, UK (May 13, 2025).
Quantum Governance, Arizona State University College of Law’s 11th Annual Conference on Governance of Emerging Technologies and Science (GETS), Phoenix, AZ (May 16, 2024).
Constitutional Due Process, in Law for Depat of Air Force Officers (2024).
Facial Recognition and Future Wars, Emergent Topics in International and Operational Law, Army JAG Legal Center and School at UVa, Charlottesville, VA (2024).
Air Fore Cyber Law Primer, Perspectives on Cyber Power (CPP-9) Air University Press (2022)
The Search for Status: Charting the Contours of Combatant Status in the Age of ISIS, 223 Mil. L. Rev. 556 (2015).
Big Brother the Sneak or Big Brother the Sentry: Does a New Bureau of Prison’s Regulation Truly Abrogate the Attorney-Client Privilege?, 27 Hamline L. Rev. 167 (2004).