Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs - Technology assessments

Persecuting Biotechnology

Calestous Juma — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 10:41:00 -0600

"Nearly two decades of propaganda and advocacy based on questionable scientific evidence forced many countries to forego the benefits of a new technology even before its merits had been assessed. In effect, these restrictions have introduced a new class of risks associated with not being able adopt a new technology even where it would confer benefits to farmers, consumers, and industrialists."

China Responds to Fukushima

Yun Zhou — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 08:16:44 -0500

June 28, 2012

Before the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, China had big nuclear expansion plans, with more than 40 reactor units under construction or in planning. The Fukushima disaster led China to conduct safety inspections of all its reactors and to suspend nuclear project approvals until a new nuclear safety plan could be adopted. Under Beijing's new safety regulatory system, reactors that are operating or under construction will be spared major redesign, but future projects will face re-engineering, perhaps leading the Chinese to adopt safer third-generation reactor designs created by Chinese firms.

Newsmakers

Traci Farrell — Wed, 16 May 2012 13:08:55 -0500

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

Energy Report: Transforming U.S. Energy Innovation

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 09:17:34 -0500

The U.S. government could save the economy hundreds of billions of dollars per year by 2050 by spending a few billion dollars more a year to spur innovations in energy technology, according to a new report by the Belfer Center’s Energy Technology Innovation Policy (ETIP) research group.

Researchers Brief U.S. Officials on Findings

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 09:16:32 -0500

The key authors of Transforming U.S. Energy Innovation released the report at an event in Washington, D.C.in November. Hosted by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, report authors Venky Narayanamurti, Laura Diaz Anadon, and Matthew Bunn presented the study process, findings, and recommendations.

Q&A Laura Diaz Anadon

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 09:10:15 -0500

Laura Diaz Anadon is the associate director of the Belfer Center’s Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program, director of the Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group, and adjunct lecturer in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. She investigates the patterns and processes of technology innovation, especially the role of government policy in the development and deployment of advanced and cleaner energy technologies.

Hot Off the Presses

Susan M. Lynch — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 09:03:18 -0500

A brief survey of recent publications by Belfer Center affiliates.

Scholars Weigh Info-Tech Policy Challenges

James F. Smith — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 09:16:46 -0600

In September, experts from Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and other Boston-area universities participated in a three day conference convened by the Belfer Center to examine policy choices facing the fast-changing field of information and communications technology.

Juma Lauded for Role in First Innovation Advisory Council

Dominic Contreras — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 09:15:48 -0600

Calestous Juma, director of the Belfer Center’s Science, Technology, and Globalization Project, played a central role in creation of the Lagos Innovation Advisory Council, the first of its kind in Africa.

Background: Transforming U.S. Energy Innovation Report

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 13:08:28 -0600

The report, Transforming U.S. Energy Innovation, released on Nov. 22, 2011, is the result of a three-year energy research, development, demonstration, and deployment (ERD3) project of the Energy Technology Innovation Policy (ETIP) research group at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. The ERD3 project was funded by a grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation to produce and promote a comprehensive set of recommendations to help the U.S. administration accelerate the development and deployment of low-carbon energy technologies.

A Network-based Modeling Framework for Stakeholder Analysis of China's Energy Conservation Campaign

Feng Fu, Wen Feng, Zheng Li, Edward F. Crawley and Weidou Ni — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 17:52:43 -0500

This paper proposes a network-based modeling framework to facilitate the development of stakeholder analysis of China's energy conservation campaign. Given the proposed framework, an illustrative case study is provided to elaborate how to integrate a set of techniques to further develop a quantitative model, as well as to demonstrate the practicability of the proposed framework. The results derived from the case study shows that the proposed framework and the model can be used as analytical tools to improve the government's policymaking process in term of providing a systematic perspective of stakeholder interrelations.

China's Cyberassault on America

Richard Clarke — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 10:49:10 -0500

In the realm of cyberspace, writes Clark, the administration is ignoring its primary responsibility to protect its own citizens when they are targeted for harm by a foreign government.

Technology & Governance 2.0

James F. Smith — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 09:23:47 -0600

Leaders of the Science, Technology and Public Policy (STPP) program at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center brought together about 80 of the nation's top policy makers and entrepreneurs for a two-day conference in September to brainstorm ideas for a new HKS initiative on technology and governance.

Featured Fellow: Charles (Skuk) Jones

Lucia Cordon and Charles Jones — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 09:15:17 -0600

Charles (Skuk) Jones is a research fellow with the Energy Research, Development, Demonstration and Deployment Policy project (ERD3) of the Belfer Center's Energy Technology Innovation Policy (ETIP) research group. He researches financing of alternative energy innovation.

Toward a Closer Digital Alliance

Melissa Hathaway — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 15:01:06 -0600

November 18, 2010

Countries will need to reconcile the facts that their Internet infrastructures are vulnerable and less resilient to attack and that their economic dependence on the Internet makes cooperation between countries on cybersecurity issues essential. Disparate and uncoordinated cyber defense schemes could adversely affect individual and collective security, privacy, usability, transparency, speed, and interoperability. Much tighter alignment and better integration of European and NATO initiatives with national laws, policies, and funding priorities is necessary to counteract threats against national networks and infrastructure. Only through international cooperation and private-public partnerships can cyber defense measures succeed.

The Cybersecurity Changes We Need

Melissa Hathaway and Jack L. Goldsmith — Sat, 29 May 2010 12:30:21 -0500

"There is widespread agreement that this long-term trend of grabbing the economic gains from information technology advances and ignoring their security costs has reached a crisis point," write Melissa Hathaway and Jack Goldsmith. "As we progress digitally, we must also adopt and embed sometimes-costly security solutions into our core infrastructures and enterprises and stop playing the game of chance."

Five Myths About Cybersecurity

Melissa Hathaway — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:52:55 -0600

"While many understand the opportunities created through this shared global infrastructure, known as cyberspace, few Americans understand the threats presented in cyberspace, which regularly arise at individual, organizational and state (or societal) levels. And these are not small threats: a paper presented earlier this year at the World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland estimated the total losses associated with cybercrime in 2008 exceeded one trillion dollars and the FBI has declared cybercrime to be its highest criminal priority."

A Safe Harbor for our Foes

Melissa Hathaway — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:11:02 -0600

"In a time where we discuss and debate border protection from in-bound missiles or illegal immigrants, we fail to address the stark reality of the threat that transgresses our borders daily. This threat is present in the Internet...."

Geospatial Science & Technology for Sustainable Development in Africa: Partnerships and Applications

Calestous Juma — Sun, 10 May 2009 19:43:59 -0500

The conference brings together members of public and private donor organizations with those from institutions and industry engaged in the application of geospatial science and technology to assess development needs, formulate responses to those needs, and successfully implement sustainable development programs in Africa.

Co-sponsored by the Association of American Geographers and the Science, Technology, and Globalization Project, Harvard Kennedy School

Scaling Dynamics in Energy Technologies: Historical Evidence & Implications

Charlie Wilson — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:23:43 -0500

Historical patterns of growth across a range of energy technologies are used to explore "scaling". Scaling is used to describe a particular form of growth that is (i) both rapid and substantive, taking into account the overall size of the energy system, and (ii) occurs at multiple levels from the technical unit and/or plant to the industry as a whole (e.g., from a wind turbine or wind farm to total installed wind capacity or manufacturing output). Scaling dynamics are assessed in historical time series data on vehicles, jet aircraft, refineries, and power plants (nuclear, coal, gas, wind). In those cases for which S-shaped growth is clearly evidenced, logistic function parameters are used to compare scaling across different technologies.

How to Keep the Bomb From Terrorists

Graham Allison — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:29:43 -0500

The only thing that can keep nuclear bombs out of the hands of terrorists is a brand-new science of nuclear forensics.

Correspondence: Costs and Difficulties of Blocking the Strait of Hormuz

William D. O'Neil and Caitlin Talmadge — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 15:55:10 -0600

William O'Neil replies to Caitlin Talmadge's Summer 2008 International Security article, "Closing Time: Assessing the Iranian Threat to the Strait of Hormuz."

Socio-Political Evaluation of Energy Deployment (SPEED): An Integrated Research Framework Analyzing Energy Technology Deployment

Jennie Stephens, Elizabeth J. Wilson and Tarla Rai Peterson — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 15:15:56 -0500

This paper proposes a systematic, interdisciplinary framework for the integrated analysis of regulatory, legal, political, economic, and social factors that influence energy technology deployment decisions at the state level.

Africa in the Age of Rapid Technological Change

Calestous Juma — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0500

As part of International Relations Week at Harvard, Calestous Juma, director of the Belfer Center's Science, Technology, and Globalization Project, delivered the keynote address on Tuesday, Oct. 23, at the Center for Government and International Studies.

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.

Freedom to Innovate: Biotechnology in Africa's Development

Calestous Juma and Ismail Serageldin — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0500

"This report is about biotechnology and the role it can play for development in Africa. The report suggests specific and practical measures to advance development, quality of life and environmental sustainability using biotechnology."

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."

Open Access to Existing Technical Knowledge

Calestous Juma — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0500

June 29, 2007

Revisiting North Korea's Nuclear Test

Hui Zhang — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Hui Zhang re-examines the North Korean explosion on October 9, 2006. His research suggests that the test was likely not a failure if Pyongyang had planned for a yield of 4 kt, as it told Beijing prior to the event.

Incorporating Stakeholders' Perspectives Into Models of New Technology Diffusion: The Case of Fuel-Cell Vehicles

Gustavo Collantes — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0600

The extreme dependency on oil of ground transportation systems across the world – particularly in the United States – has become a weakness in national economies.