Introducing the Belfer Center’s 2026–2027 Faculty, Fellows and Scholars

September 2026 – Cambridge, MA – The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School is pleased to welcome its 2026–2027 cohort of new faculty, senior fellows, research fellows, and visiting scholars.

The group includes former heads of government and senior diplomats, distinguished economists and scientists, experienced policymakers, and emerging scholars from around the world.

Stephen Casper is a computer scientist and Assistant Professor of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School, whose research focuses on AI safeguards, AI incidents, and governance. Casper writes for the International AI Safety Report and the Singapore Consensus. His research has received several awards and distinctions, including a Hoopes Prize and recognition for work on machine-learning safety.

Gita Gopinath is a leading international economist whose work focuses on global macroeconomics, international finance, trade, and the changing international economic order. She served as the First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, and before that, as the Fund’s Chief Economist. She is the Gregory and Ania Coffey Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics at Harvard University. Her research examines global trade and supply chains, exchange rates, financial stability, sovereign debt, and the intersection of economics and geopolitics.

Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall is a leading national security expert who has served at the highest levels of the U.S. government for multiple administrations, including as Assistant to the President for Homeland Security. She previously served as Deputy Secretary of Energy and as Senior Director for European affairs at the National Security Council. She serves as the inaugural Ashton B. Carter Visiting Professor at the Harvard Kennedy School and leads the Initiative on Bioconvergence, Biosecurity, and Bioresilience (IB3) at the Belfer Center’s Emerging Technology, Scientific Advancement, and Global Policy program. 

Takeo Akiba is one of Japan’s most experienced diplomats and strategic thinkers, serving as Senior Advisor to the Japanese Cabinet. He has also played a leading role in shaping Japanese foreign and security policy, including as Secretary General of Japan’s National Security Secretariat (Japan’s National Security Advisor, 2021-2025). With decades of experience navigating U.S.-Japan relations and the rapidly evolving strategic environment in the Indo-Pacific, Akiba brings exceptional diplomatic and policymaking experience to the Belfer Center. 

Elaine Buckberg is an economist and policy expert whose career spans government, industry, and finance. She previously served as Chief Economist at General Motors and as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Coordination at the U.S. Treasury Department, where she advised top leadership on major domestic economic issues including infrastructure, housing finance, and financial regulation. Her work also draws on deep expertise in macroeconomics, industrial policy, supply chains, geoeconomics, and the global electric vehicle transition. Buckberg is joining the Environment and Natural Resources Program at the Belfer Center. 

George Perkovich is one of the world’s leading experts on nuclear deterrence, nonproliferation, and disarmament. A longtime senior leader at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, he is the award-winning author of India’s Nuclear Bomb and has advised numerous U.S. government agencies, testified before both houses of Congress, and served on major national and international commissions addressing nuclear policy. His work spans nuclear strategy, arms control, South Asian security, and the future of the global nuclear order. Perkovich is joining the Project on Managing the Atom at the Belfer Center.

Kevin Rudd is the former Prime Minister of Australia, former Foreign Minister, and one of the world’s leading authorities on China and U.S.-China relations. A Mandarin speaker with a lifelong scholarly and professional focus on China, Rudd previously served as Australia’s Ambassador to the United States and now serves as Global President and CEO of the Asia Society and is the Founding Chair of its Center for China Analysis. He brings to the Belfer Center a rare combination of experience at the highest levels of government and deep expertise on the geopolitical relationship between the U.S., Australia, and the Asia-Pacific region.

Together, the incoming cohort brings expertise spanning international security, diplomacy, economics, emerging technology, energy and the environment, nuclear policy, and regional affairs. Through research, teaching, mentorship, and engagement with policymakers, its members will contribute to the Center’s work on some of the most consequential choices facing leaders today and help prepare the next generation of leaders working toward a more secure and peaceful world.

“I am delighted to welcome this exceptional group of new faculty affiliates, senior fellows, research fellows, and visiting scholars to the Belfer Center, said Meghan L. O’Sullivan, Director of the Belfer Center. "The most consequential policy challenges of our time do not fit neatly into disciplinary or geographic boundaries, and neither can our efforts to understand and address them. This cohort brings a rare combination of scholarly depth, practical experience, and perspectives from around the world. I look forward to seeing them challenge our thinking, collaborate across fields, engage our students, and help generate ideas equal to the choices leaders now face.”