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In this issue, we are pleased to introduce the Belfer Center’s Technology and Public Purpose (TAPP) Project. The brainchild of Belfer Center Director Ash Carter, the goal of the project is to ensure that emerging technologies are developed and managed in ways that serve humanity as a whole. We also feature the latest effort by our Defending Digital Democracy Project: observing midterm elections in five states and meeting with election officials to further fortify their elections against malicious attacks.Since its launch 18 months ago, D3P has engaged 44 of 50 states to improve their readiness, resistance, and resilience.

We also highlight Belfer Center work on climate change impacts - from student presentations at the Arctic Circle Assembly and presentation of the Roy Award for a partnership working to prevent flooding to decarbonization efforts in China.  And there's much more.

Belfer Center and HKS researches receive coveted Harvard Global Awards for collaborations.

Out in the field, the Belfer Center's first soccer team made it to the playoffs.

Belfer Center faculty and affiliates in the news.

digital HKS is an independent project committed to understanding the relationship between digital technology, open data, and digital rights as they relate to the public interest. Newly based at the Belfer Center, digital HKS achieves this by developing research, curriculum, and events as well as serving as a steward for the government digital services and public interest technology practitioner communities—two groups at the forefront of this work.

Bo Julie Crowley didn’t initially plan to pursue a career in cybersecurity. A 2015 Georgetown graduate with a B.A. in Government, her current focus on cyber issues is a pivot from her undergraduate studies in counterterrorism and Arabic.

When it comes to U.S.-Iran relations, Iran’s nuclear program, and all of its implications, think tanks like the Belfer Center are at times of vital importance in assisting policymakers in conducting thorough investigations of key issues, Sahar Nowrouzzadeh says.

Highlights of the Fall 2018 journal International Security.

As millions of Americans voted in the midterm elections on November 6, 25 students working with the Center’s Defending Digital Democracy Project (D3P) observed the elections unfolding in five states across the country. The team, comprised of students from Harvard Kennedy School, MIT, and Tufts, spent the last three months learning about election systems and processes in the United States. Armed with information from D3P’s “State and Local Election Playbook” and its Tabletop Exercise (TTX) training for 120 election officials from 38 different states in early 2018, this year’s student team was eager to engage with election officials and continue providing support to the men and women who are at the frontlines of protecting our democracy.

Belfer Center Director Ash Carter highlights the work of John Holdren and his colleagues who are working on issues related to climate change. He also welcomes new people and programs to the Belfer Center.

The Belfer Center welcomes its new Executive Director, Aditi Kumar.