Science & Technology

Making technological change positive for all is the critical challenge of our time. We ourselves—not only the logic of discovery and market forces—must manage it. To create a future where technology serves humanity as a whole, we need a new approach. Therefore, the Belfer Center has launched a new endeavor, the Technology and Public Purpose (TAPP) Project.

"Belfer Center Newsmakers" highlights members of the Belfer Center community who have been featured recently in the news.

A sampling of articles in the Spring 2016 issue of the Belfer Center's journal International Security.

As assistant to the president for science and technology, director of the White House Office for Science and Technology Policy, and co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), Holdren has worked closely with Obama to reinvigorate America’s scientific capabilities on a range of policy fronts, from climate change and renewable energy to health care and nanotechnology.

In December, a portion of the Ukrainian power grid was hit with a cyber attack. The perpetrators wiped data from SCADA systems (the industrial controls behind power grids), disrupted power to tens of thousands of customers, and blinded grid operators with an attack against the power company’s phone systems.

The computers, networks, and systems of cyberspace have become an integral part of daily life. They control critical infrastructure, ease and speed communication, enable financial transactions, and much more. However, the same aspects of connectivity that allow us to innovate also put us at risk.

Harvard Kennedy School and the Belfer Center announced in January 2016 that Robert Belfer and his family are investing an additional $15 million in the Belfer Center and School to help build a more secure, peaceful world.

The Fall/Winter 2014/15 issue of the Belfer Center newsletter features recent and upcoming activities, research, and analysis by members of the Center community on critical global issues. This edition highlights discussions at the Belfer Center about Iran and its nuclear program. Former U.S. National Security Advisor and Center Senior Fellow Thomas Donilon and former Israeli National Security Advisor Yaakov Amidror added their voices to Center debate on this issue during a Harvard Kennedy School forum on a possible deal to prevent development of nuclear weapons in Iran.

In "Stopping ISIL," a number of Belfer Center security experts weigh in on what must be done in the next year to stop the spread and brutality of the Islamic State (ISIL). Graham Allison, Nicholas Burns, Chuck Freilich, Nawaf Obaid, Ariane Tabatabai, Payam Mohseni, David Petraeus, Gary Samore, and Barak Mendelsohn suggest solutions to this strategic challenge.

And much more...

A sampling of Belfer Center members who have been featured in the news