Dr. John Horgan is a distinguished university professor in the Department of Psychology at Georgia State University, and he is one of the world’s leading authorities on the psychology of terrorism and violent extremism. He focuses on translating academic research into real-world applications to improve national security, law enforcement, and international policy. Dr. Horgan directs the Violent Extremism Research Group and has held senior academic and leadership positions across multiple institutions. He is the author and editor of numerous seminal books, including Terrorist Minds (Columbia University Press, 2023), and he has published extensively in leading scholarly and practitioner journals. He has briefed and trained senior officials across US government agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Homeland Security, and the White House, and he has testified before the US Congress. In 2025, he received the FBI director’s Community Leadership Award for his efforts to apply scientific research to targeted violence prevention. In the same year, he received the Distinguished Scholar Award from the American Society of Criminology. Dr. Horgan holds his doctorate and bachelor’s degree in applied psychology from University College, Cork, Ireland.