Lorne L. Dawson is a Professor in the Department of Sociology and Legal Studies at the University of Waterloo. He has written three books, edited four books, and published sixty five academic articles and book chapters. Most of his research was in the sociology of religion, but work on why some new religions become violent led to research on the process of radicalization leading to terrorism. He is the Project Director of the Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security and Society, and is currently engaged in qualitative research on foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq. He makes numerous invited presentations to academic and government groups, and is frequently interviewed in the media about terrorism.