Sam studies the way research and technology become "of security concern" for states.  He draws on and contributes to the literature on classification, boundary work, international political/technological institutions, and the co-production of social and technological systems.

From 2011-2014, Sam was the Associate Director of Research for CSTMS.

From 2009-2011, he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Harvard University, jointly with the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and the Program on Science, Technology, & Society (STS), located within the Kennedy School of Government.  He completed his doctoral research in 2009 within the Institute for Science, Innovation, & Society at the University of Oxford.