SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Summer 2013
"Roy Family Honored for Environmental and Student Support"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
"Since 1999, the Roy Family has been supporting environmental research and projects coordinated by the Belfer Center’s Environment and Natural Resources Program (ENRP). In early May, ENRP gave special thanks to the Roy Family at a special reception where they also announced the most recent recipients of Roy Family internship and fellowship awards."
May 6, 2013
HKS Plays Role in New African Agribusiness Center
Q&A
By Doug Gavel and Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project; Principal Investigator, Agricultural Innovation in Africa
"Our goal is to bring experiences from around the world to bear on the design of farm-based centers, schools, colleges and universities. We have already drawn substantially from the lessons of EARTH University in Costa Rica which has over two decades of experience on agribusiness education in the tropics. I served on the governing board of this pioneering university whose model is most suited to African conditions."
April 30, 2013
"Global Grand Challenges for Engineering and International Development"
Op-Ed, Technology+Policy | Innovation@Work
By Sujata K. Bhatia, Associate, Science, Technology, and Globalization
"Africa has demonstrated the capability to innovate in hardware and software, and that it is easier to introduce novel technologies in settings where no incumbent industries exist; this presents a unique advantage for innovators in the developing world and must be emphasized in policy discussions."
April 3, 2013
"Accelerate the Accelerators! Are There Alternatives to Nuclear Research Reactors?"
Presentation
By David Nusbaum, Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program
This seminar reviewed the alternatives to nuclear research reactors and the benefits of adopting the technology of accelerators in order to reduce dependence on enriched uranium.
April 2013
"DOE Budget Authority for Energy Research, Development, & Demonstration Database"
Fact Sheet
By Kelly Sims Gallagher, Senior Associate, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group and Laura Diaz Anadon, Associate Director, Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program; Director, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group; Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy
In our annual review of the budget request for fiscal year 2014 for the Department of Energy's energy research, development, demonstration (RD&D) programs, we observe that it is significantly higher than the FY12 budget, a 33 percent increase overall, from $3.25 billion to $4.30 billion (current dollars), not including basic energy sciences. The increase in basic energy sciences is also large compared with FY12, a 17 percent increase for a total of $1.74 billion. We observe a huge decline in spending on deployment programs since the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. Our database, including charts, is available for download.
Kaeri Photo
March 29, 2013
Safeguards for Pyroprocessing Plants
Media Feature
By Olli Heinonen, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
Senior Fellow Olli Heinonen discussed pyroprocessing of spent nuclear fuel, its proliferation risks, and safeguards.
April 12, 2013
"Why the Government Matters: A Primer for Data-Minded Entrepreneurs"
Op-Ed, Hive
By Vivek Mohan, Research Fellow, Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program/Information and Communications Technology and Public Policy Project
"...[A]mong the informed public, fear of misuse of personal information is not limited to a wary eye towards cyber criminals — increasingly, concern has been voiced at the increasing power of the government in electronic surveillance."
April 10, 2013
"Rebooting African Economies: Science and Engineering for Rapid Economic Transformation"
Announcement
By Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project; Principal Investigator, Agricultural Innovation in Africa
A lecture by Calestous Juma from 3:00–5:30 PM, April 18, 2013, at the Golf Course Hotel in Kampala, Uganda. Organized by the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA). Africa's identity has historically been associated with its vast natural resources which have shaped not only its political culture but also defined its place in the global family of nations. In recent years, however, a new picture of Africa has started to emerge. African economies are increasingly being view as rapid adopters of emerging technologies. The aim of this lecture is to identify approaches for leveraging the world's fund of scientific, technological, and engineering knowledge for rapid economic transformation.
Spring 2013
Belfer Center Newsletter Spring 2013
Newsletter
By Sharon Wilke, Associate Director of Communications
The Spring 2013 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 the Belfer Center’s deepening engagement with China.
Spring 2013
"Breaking Down Walls Between Basic and Applied Research"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
By Andrew Facini, Communications Assistant
Questions about the very nature of scientific discovery are being raised by Belfer Center experts Venkatesh (Venky) Narayanamurti, Tolu Odumosu, and Lee Vinsel...Their new discussion paper, entitled “The Discovery-Invention Cycle: Bridging the Basic/Applied Dichotomy,” describes the longstanding paradigm that separates basic research and discovery from applied research and implementation – for example, separating the study of the DNA of a bacteria from the application of that knowledge to develop new drugs and compounds.
