The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs will host a directors' lunch with Dr. John Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
He recently advocated for an increase in the President's research and development budget spotlighting science, engineering and innovation.
The Financial Times recognized John's substantial contributions last year, when it editorialized that President Obama has brought "the best of science into government and emphasized the need for transparent decision-making based on real evidence." The FT noted that "the US Office of Science and Technology Policy, directed by John Holdren, Mr. Obama's Science Advisor, is very much part of the White House."
Prior to joining the Obama administration Dr. Holdren was Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy and Director of the Program on Science, Technology, and Public Policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, as well as professor in Harvard's Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and Director of the independent, nonprofit Woods Hole Research Center. From 1973 to 1996 he was on the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley, where he co-founded and co-led the interdisciplinary graduate-degree program in energy and resources.
Dr. Holdren holds advanced degrees in aerospace engineering and theoretical plasma physics from MIT and Stanford and is highly regarded for his work on energy technology and policy, global climate change, and nuclear arms control and nonproliferation. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, as well as foreign member of the Royal Society of London. A former president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, his awards include a MacArthur Foundation Prize Fellowship, the John Heinz Prize in Public Policy, the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, and the Volvo Environment Prize. He served from 1991 until 2005 as a member of the MacArthur Foundation's board of trustees.
During the Clinton administration Dr. Holdren served as a member of PCAST through both terms and in that capacity chaired studies requested by President Clinton on preventing theft of nuclear materials, disposition of surplus weapon plutonium, the prospects of fusion energy, U.S. energy R&D strategy, and international cooperation on energy-technology innovation. In December 1995 he gave the acceptance lecture for the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, an international organization of scientists and public figures in which he held leadership positions from 1982 to 1997.
RSVP REQUIRED! http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/events/holdren.html
As space is limited for this event, RSVPs will be accepted on a first come, first served basis.
Belfer Center Directors' Lunches are strictly off-the-record. By indicating your desire to attend the seminar, you agree that you will comply with the Belfer Center's strict policy against recording or disclosing the contents of the seminar. Your access is conditioned on your compliance with these restrictions. Should you violate these rules, the Center will pursue all available legal options and you will be excluded from all future events.
