Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs - Science and engineering

Science and Technology for Sustainable Well-Being

John P. Holdren — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 21:29:19 -0600

"I would urge every scientist and engineer with an interest in the intersection of S&T with sustainable well-being...to 'tithe' 10% of your professional time and effort to working in these and other ways to increase the benefits of S&T for the human condition and to decrease the liabilities. If so much as a substantial fraction of the world's scientists and engineers resolved to do this much, the acceleration of progress toward sustainable well-being for all of Earth's inhabitants would surprise us all."

Africa's 'Text Generation' is Here

Calestous Juma — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0600

"Kenyans will elect a new president in December. But unlike in previous elections, the president will preside over a country dominated by the youth who have a new outlook on life....Performance standards will soon take centre stage and will start to directly challenge patronage as a management style....The "text generation" will be more interested in a functioning economy and less in ethnic politics that has dominated Kenya and most of post-colonial Africa."

Reaping Benefits of Technology Revolution

Calestous Juma — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0500

"The market release of the iconic $100 laptop (XO) later this year promises to do for education what the cell phone did for telecommunications....Like the cellphone, new educational technologies such as the XO will demand greater flexibility in educational systems....Existing curricula are like landlines; fixed in place and dependent for their functioning on centralized bureaucracies."

China Should Import Africa's Finished Goods

Calestous Juma — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0500

"China needs to complement its raw material imports with serious efforts that help African countries become exporters of finished goods to the Chinese market....There is a strategic starting point for China. The country has set up the US$5 billion China-Africa Development Fund that aims to eliminate tariffs on over 440 African export items and build several economic and trade cooperation zones across the continent."

Professor Calestous Juma Hosts Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernandez

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0500

During his visit to Harvard University, President Leonel Fernandez had the opportunity to address a select group of Kennedy School students that applauded the Head of State's vision regarding the construction of a Metro Subway system in the Capital city Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, currently taking place. The visit was organized by Professor Calestous Juma, Director of the Science, Technology, and Globalization Project.

Africa Needs Development Armies

Calestous Juma — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0500

"Africa could learn from other countries. The US Army Corps of Engineers has been instrumental in the construction and maintenance of critical infrastructure since its creation in the 1930s. Similarly, the Corps of Royal Engineers has a long record spanning 900 years of contributing to civilian infrastructure ."

Africa Needs More Technical Universities

Calestous Juma — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0500

"Meeting safety requirements in international markets will involve the use of sophisticated information systems that allow regulators to effectively trace the movement of products through the entire food chain.

Having technical capacity to manage safety information will help African countries to add value to their produce."

Managing Technological Risks

Calestous Juma — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0500

July 27, 2007

Recent comments by former United nations secretary General Kofi Annan over the role of genetically modified seed in African agriculture have reopened debate over the risks posed by new technologies....

Lessons Africa Must Learn from Chinese Expansion

Calestous Juma — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0500

July 13, 2007

Build Africa's Economic Foundations First

Calestous Juma — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0500

"African presidents have now returned home from Accra, Ghana, after discussing a critical issue for the future of Africa: the creation of a United States of Africa at the urging of Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi....Col Gaddafi has the right vision, but can correct his faulty strategy by helping to support the effective functioning of regional integration bodies, starting with northern and western Africa."

A Joint Workshop on IGCC & Co-Production and CO2 Capture & Storage

Lifeng Zhao — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Report on a workshop jointly organized by the Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Identifying Engineering Opportunities

Calestous Juma — Fri, 11 May 2007 00:00:00 -0500

May 11, 2007

Building Engineering Capacity Key to Africa?s Development

Calestous Juma — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0500

April 20, 2007

How Technology Will Shape Africa's Diplomacy

Calestous Juma — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0500

March 23, 2007

African countries have spent the last decade using traditional diplomatic tools to negotiate better trading conditions for their exports....

Regional Trade Blocs Hold Key to Technology Gains

Calestous Juma — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0500

The ongoing effort by the three East African countries to educate citizens on the benefits of an East African Federation represents an important step on the road to greater regional integration....

Linking Knowledge and Business

Calestous Juma — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0600

March 9, 2007

We Must Redesign Our Economies for Take-Off

Calestous Juma — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0500

October 27, 2006

Engineering Education Vital for Africa's Growth

Calestous Juma — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0500

"The development policies advocated for Africa in the past two decades have generally failed to draw from experiences elsewhere. As a result, critical lessons regarding the role of engineering in development were either ignored or their application discouraged."

Redesigning African Economies: The Role of Engineering in International Development

Calestous Juma — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0500

October 3, 2006

Growing Interest in Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) for Climate Change Mitigation

Jennie Stephens — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0500

Interest in technologies associated with carbon capture and storage (CCS) has been growing rapidly in both the public and private sectors over the past five to ten years as governments, industry, and individuals grapple with how to reconcile increased energy demand with the need to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations to mitigate the risks of climate change.

Rejuvenating African Economies: The Role of Engineering in International Development

Calestous Juma — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0500

Money Matters

Wed, 31 May 2006 00:00:00 -0500

May 31, 2006

Book review - China: 'The River Runs Black: The Environmental Challenge to China's Future' by Elizabeth C. Economy

Kelly Sims Gallagher — Sun, 30 Apr 2006 00:00:00 -0500

Gallagher reviews Elizabeth Economy's book on the state of the environment in China.

Uncertainty Underground: Yucca Mountain and the Nation's High-Level Nuclear Waste

Allison Macfarlane — Fri, 31 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0600

March 31, 2006

Harvard Researcher Offers Step Toward Cleaner Coal in U.S. Power Industry

Wed, 01 Feb 2006 16:05:06 -0600

February 1, 2006

Innovate or Perish

Lewis M. Branscomb — Sun, 01 Jan 2006 00:00:00 -0600

January 1, 2006

THE UNITED STATES is losing its competitive advantage and may soon lose its innovative edge....

U.S.-China Effort Aims to Reduce CO2 Coal Emissions

Tue, 20 Dec 2005 00:00:00 -0600

December 20, 2005

Going for Growth: Science, Technology and Innovation in Africa

Calestous Juma — Mon, 31 Oct 2005 00:00:00 -0600

This collection of essays by key experts in the field of international development looks at the role of science, technology and innovation in encouraging a risk-taking, problem solving approach to development cooperation in Africa....

Conclusions: Forging Ahead

Calestous Juma — Mon, 31 Oct 2005 00:00:00 -0600

Technology Innovation for Sustainable Prosperity: Memorial Tribute to Vicki Norberg-Bohm

Wed, 05 Oct 2005 00:00:00 -0500

October 5, 2005