Friends and Colleagues,

As the 2022-23 academic year nears an end, the Belfer Center community is reflecting on our efforts to develop ideas on policy solutions to some of the world’s toughest problems at the intersection of science and international affairs, and we’re looking to the future as we prepare for our leadership transition. In July, we will welcome a new Director, Meghan O’Sullivan, to whom I will hand the reins of the Center.

It has been an honor to lead the Center for the past six years alongside the highly talented faculty, staff, students, and others who make up the Belfer Center family. I plan to devote my time to teaching and running a project that will develop US security strategy for key areas of emerging technology.

In this newsletter, read about our recent guest, South Korean President Yoon, whose historic visit to Harvard was co-planned by our Korea Project. Learn how Center experts assess the war in Ukraine and Putin’s nuclear threats, what our research shows about the future of the energy transition and the significance of climate change governance, and how to navigate deepfakes and make technology, such as AI, work for and not against the public good. Also watch a Q&A with Meghan O’Sullivan and hear her thoughts about the Belfer Center’s impact. There’s much more. Click here to see the full newsletter.

Eric Rosenbach, Co-Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

Meghan O’Sullivan, the Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs and Director of the Center’s Geopolitics of Energy project, will become Belfer Center Director on July 1, 2023. As she prepares for this transition, Communications Associate Director Sharon Wilke asked her to share her thoughts on the Belfer Center and what she sees as its greatest strengths, why she decided to take on the leadership role, and how she hopes to build on the Center’s strengths and impact in the near and distant future. 

On July 1, Meghan O’Sullivan, Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, will become Director of Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center of Science and International Affairs. She will take the reins from Eric Rosenbach, Co-Director of the Center since 2017.

In this Fall 2022 issue of the Belfer Center newsletter, our main feature focuses on Ash Carter and his legacy. Following Ash’s sudden death in October, tributes and remembrances poured in from current and former government officials and colleagues, students, and friends. Their many stories describe Ash’s impact on the country and on the people with whom he came in contact. Be sure to take a look at these moving remembrances. 

You will also see in this all-digital newsletter some of the breadth and depth of the Center’s output, from continuing research and insights into the war in Ukraine and related nuclear threats, to security possibilities of open source intelligence, a 2022 review of cyber power in 30 countries, and new ideas to lessen climate change impacts in the Arctic and around the world. And there’s much more about the critical work the Center is doing in pursuit of a more secure and peaceful world.

As tributes and memories poured in following the sudden death of Belfer Center Director Ash Carter on October 24, it became increasingly clear that his legacy of teaching and serving will live on through the students he taught, colleagues he mentored and worked alongside, and the many individuals whose lives he touched during his work in and out of government. 

Here, through the words of students, colleagues, government officials, and others, we share something of the incredible impact of this extraordinary man known as “Professor Carter,” “Secretary Carter,” “Sir,” and just “Ash.” 

General Joseph F. Dunford, Jr. (ret.), former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has been awarded the prestigious Order of Australia.

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

The Belfer Center is not a passive observer of the war in Ukraine. Our community of diplomats, national security analysts, intelligence officials, and generals, along with nuclear, energy, and cyber experts have been working non-stop to advance policy-relevant insights.

As you’ll see in our latest newsletter, this is an all-hands effort that shows the distinctive value of the Belfer Center’s multi-faceted research. I have a deep personal connection to this conflict. In the 1990s, I helped dismantle nuclear missile silos in Ukraine as part of the Nunn-Lugar program. That remarkable bipartisan effort grew from important work at the Belfer Center.

Amid scenes of brutal destruction in Ukraine today, our mission to advance research, ideas, and leadership for a more secure, peaceful world has never been more urgent. There’s much more in this newsletter about vital work the Center is doing in other critical areas.

Ash Carter

As the culmination of their Spring Exercise requirement at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), Master of Public Policy (MPP) first-year students worked in groups to prepare briefing memos laying out detailed implementation plans to mine rare earth minerals on the moon by 2032. In late April, the student groups presented their plans in simulated “Final Decision Briefings” to either the U.S. President or the European Space Agency (ESA) Director General, role-played by various HKS faculty and staff. 

Few things will affect coming decades more than U.S.-China relations. The rivalry between these global giants will be contested across virtually every domain: technology, economics, diplomacy, and military might. At the same time, Beijing and Washington have a unique opportunity—and a solemn responsibility—to work together on global challenges, none more important than climate change. As you’ll see in our latest newsletter (Fall 2021), the Center is working to advance insight on this issue and many more at the intersection of science, technology, and international affairs.

Ash Carter
Belfer Center Director

The Spring 2021 Belfer Center Newsletter highlights the critical connections between climate change and global security. Harvard Kennedy School sudents tell a fascinating data story about a small Norwegian archipelago that shows close-up how climate change is creating international tensions. 

Also in this newsletter, you can tune into a discussion of the state of nuclear safety today. You can watch Fiona Hill talking about “The Problem with Russia,” and see what former President Clinton says about foreign policy challenges today in a conversation with Nicholas Burns. We also give you a look at technology for public good and some we must watch carefully, how culture can transcend conflict, and the amazing impact of a social media effort - SharetheMicInCyber - on amplifying Black women’s voices and talents. And there’s much, much more.