My work analyzes the way that various groups determine what counts as research and technology of security concern, and how that process of shaping things of security concern also shapes the governance system around them. Academically, it draws on and contributes to the literature on classification, boundary work, international political/technological institutions, and the co-production of social and technological systems. Topically, I am currently focused on the governance of security concerns within engineering biology, and have an ongoing interest in the governance systems for conventional and quantum “dual use” technology.
I am currently a Senior Policy Advisor for the US National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB), where I lead a working group on preventing misuse and promoting responsible innovation. Previously, I was a Senior Research Fellow in Harvard’s Program on Science, Technology, and Society at the John F. Kennedy School of Government and a Research Associate at Harvard’s John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. I also co-led the Trust in Science Project at Harvard, which analyzes the breakdowns in public trust in science, and to ask what steps could be taken to promote better mutual understanding.
I also hold an appointment as a Research Affiliate in the Program on Emerging Technology at the Center for International Studies at MIT, and was previously a Research Affiliate at the University of Cambridge’s Centre for the Study of Existential Risk.
I enjoy working to connect ideas in STS to applications, and in addition to my work on the NSCEB, I sit on the Councils of the Engineering Biology Research Consortium and the Science and Democracy Network, and was a member of the Legal, Ethical, Environmental, Dual use, and Responsible innovation (LEEDR) advisory group to DARPA’s Safe Genes program. I am a special advisor to the international Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition, where I have co-chaired the Human Practices Committee and also serve on the Safety and Security Committee. During my career, I have taught, conducted research, and helped build Science and Technology Studies programs at Oxford, Harvard, the University of California, Berkeley and Tufts.
I maintain the “STS & Security” and “Building STS” email lists, which you’re welcome to join if they are of interest. If you are interested in more general STS discussion, you might consider joining the STSGrad email list.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions!
Research Interests
Topical Areas:
- How to build meaningful relationships between Science and Technology Studies (STS), other academic communities, and communities of practice that can change both practice and theory
- Security controls on international trade, especially the Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies
- The construction and governance of security concerns within synthetic biology
- Dual-use research of concern
- Quantum science and technology and society
Theoretical Areas:
- Science & Technology Studies, especially:
- The coproduction of social and knowledge systems
- Ambiguity, uncomfortable knowledge, and the social construction of non-knowledge
- Classification systems, particularly how we catergorize items as malicious or not (e.g. “dual-use” research and technology)
- Anomaly-handling strategies in the governance of science and technology
- International security
View my Zotero reference library to see a complete list of articles I work with.
Publications
- Greene, Dan, Kathryn Brink, Melissa Salm, Connor Hoffman, Sam Weiss Evans, and Megan Palmer (2023) The Biorisk Management Casebook: Insights into contemporary practices. Stanford University: Stanford Digital Repository.
- Taitingfong, Riley I., Cynthia Triplett, Váleri N. Vásquez, Ramya M. Rajagopalan, Robyn Raban, Aaron Roberts, Gerard Terradas, Bridget Baumgartner, Claudia Emerson, Fred Gould, Fredros Okumu, Cynthia E. Schairer, Hervé C. Bossin, Leah Buchman, Karl J. Campbell, Anna Clark, Jason Delborne, Kevin Esvelt, Joshua Fisher, Robert M. Friedman, Gigi Gronvall, Nikos Gurfield, Elizabeth Heitman, Natalie Kofler, Todd Kuiken, Jennifer Kuzma, Pablo Manrique-Saide, John M. Marshall, Michael Montague, Amy C. Morrison, Chris C. Opesen, Ryan Phelan, Antoinette Piaggio, Hector Quemada, Larisa Rudenko, Natéwindé Sawadogo, Robert Smith, Holly Tuten, Anika Ullah, Adam Vorsino, Nikolai Windbichler, Omar S. Akbari, Kanya Long, James V. Lavery, Sam Weiss Evans, Karen Tountas & Cinnamon S. Bloss. “Exploring the Value of a Global Gene Drive Project Registry.” Nature Biotechnology, December 15, 2022, 1–5.
- Normandin, Avery M, Lily M Fitzgerald, Julianne Yip, and Sam Weiss Evans. “Hurdles in Responsive Community Engagement for the Development of Environmental Biotechnologies.” Synthetic Biology, October 20, 2022, ysac022.
- Evans, Sam Weiss. 2022. “When All Research Is Dual Use.” Issues in Science and Technology 38 (3): 84–87.
- Connolly, John B., John D. Mumford, Debora C. M. Glandorf, Sarah Hartley, Owen T. Lewis, Sam Weiss Evans, Geoff Turner, et al. 2022. “Recommendations for Environmental Risk Assessment of Gene Drive Applications for Malaria Vector Control.” Malaria Journal 21 (1): 152.
- Mackelprang, Rebecca, Katarzyna P. Adamala, Emily R. Aurand, James C. Diggans, Andrew D. Ellington, Samuel Weiss Evans, J. L. Clem Fortman, et al. 2022. “Making Security Viral: Shifting Engineering Biology Culture and Publishing.” ACS Synthetic Biology 11 (2): 522–27.
- Millett, Piers, Tessa Alexanian, Megan J. Palmer, Sam Weiss Evans, Todd Kuiken, and Kenneth Oye. 2022. “iGEM and Gene Drives: A Case Study for Governance.” Health Security, January.
- Kemp, Luke, David C. Aldridge, Olaf Booy, Hilary Bower, Des Browne, Mark Burgmann, Austin Burt, Andrew A. Cunningham, Malcolm Dando, Jaimie T. A. Dick, Christopher Dye, Sam Weiss Evans, Belinda Gallardo, H. Charles J. Godfray, Ian Goodfellow, Simon Gubbins, Lauren A. Holt, Kate E. Jones, Hazem Kandil, Phillip Martin, Mark McCaughan, Caitríona McLeish, Thomas Meany, Kathryn Millett, Sean S. ÓhÉigeartaigh, Nicola J. Patron, Catherine Rhodes, Helen E. Roy, Gorm Shackelford, Derek Smith, Nicola Spence, Helene Steiner, Lalitha S. Sundaram, Silja Voeneky, John R. Walker, Harry Watkins, Simon Whitby, James Wood, William J. Sutherland (2021) “80 questions for UK biological security.” PLOS ONE 16(1).
- Long Kanya C, Luke Alphey, George J. Annas, Cinnamon S. Bloss, Karl J. Campbell, Jackson Champer, Chun-Hong Chen, Amit Choudhary, George M. Church, James P. Collins, Kimberly L. Cooper, Jason A. Delborne, Owain R. Edwards, Claudia I. Emerson, Kevin Esvelt, Sam Weiss Evans, Robert M. Friedman, Valentino M. Gantz, Fred Gould, Sarah Hartley, Elizabeth Heitman, Janet Hemingway, Hirotaka Kanuka, Jennifer Kuzma, James V. Lavery, Yoosook Lee, Marce Lorenzen, Jeantine E. Lunshof, John M. Marshall, Philipp W. Messer, Craig Montell, Kenneth A. Oye, Megan J. Palmer, Philippos Aris Papathanos, Prasad N. Paradkar, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Jason L. Rasgon, Gordana Rašić, Larisa Rudenko, J. Royden Saah, Maxwell J. Scott, Jolene T. Sutton, Adam E. Vorsino, Omar S. Akbari. (2020) “Core commitments for field trials of gene drive organisms.” Science 370(6523): 1417–1419.
- Evans Sam Weiss, Leese Matthias and Rychnovská Dagmar (2020) “Science, technology, security: Towards critical collaboration.” Social Studies of Science 51(2): 189-213.
- Evans, Sam Weiss, Jacob Beal, Kavita Berger, Diederik A. Bleijs, Alessia Cagnetti, Francesca Ceroni, Gerald L. Epstein, Natàlia Garcia-Reyero, David R. Gillum, Graeme Harkess, Nathan J. Hillson, Petra A. M. Hogervorst, Jacob L. Jordan, Geneviève Lacroix, Rebecca Moritz, Seán S. ÓhÉigeartaigh, Megan J. Palmer, Mark W. J. van Passel (2020) “Embrace Experimentation in Biosecurity Governance.” Science 368(6487). 138-140.
- Millet, Piers, Thomas Binz, Sam Weiss Evans, Todd Kuiken, Ken Oye, Megan J. Palmer, Kathrina Yambao, Samuel Yu, Cécile van der Vlugt (2019) “Developing a comprehensive, adaptive, and international biosafety and biosecurity programme for advanced biotechnology: the iGEM perspective.” Applied Biosafety 24(2).
- Oye ,Kennth A, Mejan J Palmer, and Sam Weiss Evans. (2019) Designing institutions and processes to enable integrative programs on the societal aspects of biological research. 28 February. MIT Program on Emerging Technology.
- Buchthal, Joanna, Sam Weiss Evans, Jeantine Lunshof, Sam R. Telford, and Kevin M. Esvelt (2019). “Mice Against Ticks: An experimental community-guided effort to prevent tick-borne disease by altering the shared environment.” Philosophical Transactions B.
- Evans, Sam Weiss, and Megan Palmer (2018) “Anomaly-handling and the politics of gene drives” Journal of Responsible Innovation (5)Sup.1. 223-242.
- Evans, Sam Weiss (2017) “The Construction of New Security Concerns in the Life Sciences.” Paper Commissioned for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Committee on Dual Use Research of Concern: Options for Future Management Second Meeting, 4 January 2017.
- Kathleen Vogel, Brian Balmer, Sam Weiss Evans, Inga Kroener, Matsumoto Miwao, and Brian Rappert (2017) “Knowledge and Security.” In Handbook of Science and Technology Studies, edited by Ulrike Felt, Rayvon Fouché, Clark A. Miller, and Laurel Smith-Doerr, 4th ed., Chapter 33. MIT Press.
- Evans, Sam Weiss (2016) “Biosecurity Governance for the Real World.” Issues in Science and Technology. 33(1):84-88.
- Evans, Sam Weiss, and Emma Frow (2015) “‘Taking Care’ in Synthetic Biology,” in Rappert, Brian and Balmer, Brian (eds) Absence in Science, Security and Policy. Palgrave. 2015. p. 132-153.
- Evans, Sam Weiss (2015) “Book Review: Vulnerability in Technological Cultures: New Directions in Research and Governance. Edited by Anique Hommels, Jessica Mesman and Wiebe E. Bijker.”Science and Public Policy. 42(4): 594-5.
- Evans, Sam Weiss (2015)”What’s the Matter with Biosecurity?“ Journal of Responsible Innovation. Author’s Original Manuscript. 2(1): 88-91.
- Evans, Sam Weiss, Sheila Jasanoff, Jane Calvert, Jason Delborne, Robert Doubleday, Emma Frow, Silvio Funtowicz, Brian Green, Dave H. Guston, Ben Hurlbut, Alan Irwin, Pierre-Benoit Joly, Jennifer Kuzma, Megan Palmer, Margaret Race, Jack Stilgoe, Andy Stirling, James Wilsdon, David Winickoff, Brian Wynne, and Laurie Zoloth (2014) “Synthetic Biology: Missing the Point.” in Nature. 510(7504): 218.
- Evans, Sam Weiss (2014) Revising Export Control List. A report of the Flemish Peace Institute. March.
- Evans, Sam Weiss (2014) “Dual Use Research of Concern: Comments on the US Government’s Proposed Policy.”
- Evans, Samuel A W, and Walter Valdiva (2012) “Export controls and the tension between academic freedom and national security,” in Minerva. 50(2): 169-190).
- Evans, Samuel A (2009) Technological Ambiguity & the Wassenaar Arrangement. DPhil thesis, University of Oxford, submitted Trinity Term.
- Evans, Samuel A (2004) The Governance of Technology at the World Trade Organization: a cultural theory framework. Dissertation for the degree of Masters of Science in Management Research, University of Oxford.
- Bryant, R. G., S. A. Evans, E. R. Long Jr., R. L. Fox (2000) “Thermal and Mechanical Characterization of NASA High Displacement Actuators For Satellite Instrumentation.” Smart Structures and Materials 2000: Industrial and Commercial Applications of Smart Structures Technologies, Proceedings of SPIE Vol. 3991. 195-200.
Presentations
- “Setting up an Experimental Governance Initiative for Science (EGISS).” Presentation to the MIT/JHU Bioengineering Policy Salon. 20 Jun 2023.
- “The shifting landscape of science and security governance.” Presentation to the Engineering Biology Research Consortium Annual Meeting. 5 Jun 2023.
- “Ways to Help Researchers Better Attend to the Broader Aspects of their Work.” Presentation to the Department of Defense Ethical, Legal, Social, and Environmental Issues Sub area. 31 May 2023.
- “Alternatives to Contemporary Governance Mechanisms for Security Concerns in Fundamental Research.” Presentation to US Department of State. 10 May 2023.
- “Novel security concerns and emerging technology: an action plan for ETTAC.” Presentation to the Emerging Technology Technical Advisory Committee. 21 April 2023.
- “Governance of Security Concerns in Science.” Presentation to the STS Circle seminar series at Harvard University. 6 Feb 2023.
- “Beyond DURC: Situating policies within larger biosecurity shifts.” Presentation to the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity. 21 September 2022.
- “Some limits of export controls for emerging technology.” Presentation to the ESARDA Export Control Working Group annual meeting. 12 May 2022.
- “Ways to become involved in experiments in synthetic biology governance.” Presentation to the Build A Cell seminar series. 9 May 2022.
- “Export Controls and Quantum Anomalies.” Presentation to the Quantum Economic Development Consortium Law Technical Advisory Committee. 28 Feb 2022.
- “Some limits of export controls for security governance.” Presentation to the 15th ESARDA Export Control Working Group Meeting. 4 May 2022
- “Governing Dual Use Biological Research in the United States.” Presentation to the Project on Emerging Technologies Affecting the Future of Japan’s Economic and National Security. Virtual. 3 December 2021.
- “STS roles in developing technologies of humility around gene drives.” North Carolina State University Center for Genetics and Society. 9 November 2021.
- “Governing the liminal Space of Law, Security, and Science.” Harvard SJD-STS workshop. 6 May 2021.
- “Biosecurity governance, concerns, and future directions.” Keynote for the 1st ABSA Biosecurity Symposium. 21 April 2021.
- (with Sarah Hartley, Keith Hayes, and Adam Kokotovich)”Stakeholder engagement and risk assessment: What are the lessons for gene drive research engagement?” Panel discussion for the GeneConvene Global Collaborative discussion series on Considering the case of gene drive technologies through social science theories on stakeholder engagement. Virtual. 9 March 2021.
- (With Todd Kuiken) “Registry discussions as a place to build trust.” Framing presentation for the workshop on Promoting transparency in the development, testing, and use of gene drive organisms: exploring the possible value of a global gene drive project registry. Virtual. 8-9 December 2020.
- (With Megan Palmer) “Experimentation in Governance.” American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biosecurity Conference. Virtual. 3 December 2020.
- “Experimentation in Biosecurity Governance.”Presentation at the iGEM 2020 Global Jamboree Contributor’s Day. 21 Nov 2020.
- (With Dagmar Rychnovska and Matthias Leese) “Science, Technology, and Security: towards critical engagement.” Annual Meeting of the Society for the Social Studies of Science (Virtual). 18 August 2020.
- “Gene drives and engagement: Rethinking how science is done.” University of Minnesota Research Ethics Week. 3 March 2020.
- “Governing security concerns beyond dual-use.” Presentation to High Level Workshop on Emerging Technologies, Ethics, Security and Governance, Geneva Centre for Security Policy. 6 Oct 2020.
- (With Dagmar Rychnovska and Matthias Leese) “Science, Technology, and Security: towards critical engagement.” Framing presentation for the workshop on Global Reconfigurations in Science, Technology, and Security. Krakow, Poland, 27 June 2019.
- “Security isn’t what it used to be: the role of export controls in the 21st century.” Invited keynote to the British Aerospace and Engineering (BAE) Systems annual export control and compliance conference. Runnymede-on-Thames, UK, 12 June 2019.
- “Anomaly handling and the politics of gene drives.” Invited presentation to the 1st Annual Conference on the Ethics and Social Implications of Gene Drives, University of California, San Diego, 10 May 2019.
- “Experiments in thinking differently about security and the broader aspects of bioengineering.” Invited presentation to the launch of Phase II of the DARPA Safegenes program, Washington, DC, 7 May 2019.
- “Governing security concerns in bioengineering beyond lists and dual-use.” Invited presentation to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s Committee on Safeguarding the Bioeconomy, Washington, DC, 1 May 2019.
- “This is not your ‘father’s’ biosecurity: experiments in novel security governance at the edge of innovation.” Invited lecture, World Social Science Forum. Fukuoka, Japan, 28 September 2018.
- “Threats to democracy: balancing democratic ideals and security concerns.” Paper presented at the European Association for the Study of Science and Technology (EASST), Lancaster University, 26 July 2018.
- “Is This a Threat? Governing Security Concerns in Science and Technology.” Invited lecture in the Vienna STS Talks series, Department of Science and Technology Studies, University of Vienna, 6 June 2018.
- “Reshaping Biodesign Governance Assumptions.” Invited paper given to the Workshop on Governance of Emerging Biodesign Technologies, University of Tokyo, 19 January 2018.
- “Security concerns in emerging technology: creating learning feedback loops,” Invited talk given to the Arizona Biosecurity Workshop, Arizona State University, 7-8 December 2017.
- (With Megan Palmer) “Science governance through anomaly-handling: the case of gene drives,” Invited talk, EnLIGHTeNING Lunch Seminar Series, School for the Future of Innovation and Society, Arizona State Univeristy, 6 December 2017.
- “Reimagining the governance of objects of security concern,” Invited talk presented at Workshop on Regulating Knowledge Flows in the Global Age, Georgetown Univeristy, 8-10 November 2017.
- “Make me an anomaly and I will raise/raze a world: making objects of security non-concern in synthetic biology and geoengineering,” Presentation to the Society for the Social Studies of Science Annual Meeting, Boston, 29 August 2017.
- “Dual-Use in Perspective,” Invited talk presented at the Workshop on Maintaining Innovation and Security in Biotechnology: Lessons Learned from Nuclear, Chemical and Information Technologies, Lawerence Livermore National Laboratory, 1 August 2017.
- “Know the signs of hubristic governance!” Invited talk presented to the Workshop on Governing Complex and Emerging Technologies: Lessons for the Governance of Climate Engineering, Berkeley, California, 9 February 2017.
- “Constructing New Security Concerns in the Life Sciences,” Presentation to the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Dual Use Research of Concern: Options for Future Management, Washington DC, 4 January 2017.
- “Words of Caution in Making Objects of Security Concern,” Presentation to the Cambridge Catastrophic Risk Conference, Clare College, Cambridge University, 12-14 December 2016.
- “Bugs, features, and the handling of anomalies in governing gene drives,” With Megan Palmer) Presentation to the Harvard University Program on Science, Technology and Society Fellows Group, 22 March 2016.
- “It’s not a bug, it’s a feature: Policy and political aspects of gene drives,” (with Megan Palmer) Invited paper for the NSF workshop on Gene Drives at North Carolina State University, 25 February 2016.
- “Horizon scanning for responsible innovation,” Presentation given to the Synthetic Biology Leadership Excellence Accelerator Program, Asilomar Conference Center, 17 March 2015.
- “Taking care of security in practice: Some notes from the ground as we all get DURCed,” Presentation for Biological and Chemical Security in an Age of Responsible Innovation, Royal Society, London, 19-21 November 2014.
- “Is this a threat? The (un)making of security concerns in emerging technology,” paper given to the Harvard History of Science seminar series, 21 October 2014.
- “Taking care of security in synthetic biology research”, paper given at the side event of the Biological Weapons Convention Meeting of Experts, 6 August 2014. Geneva. Slides.
- “Broader Aspects of Bioengineering,” presentation to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 18 June 2014.
- “Making Security a Matter of Non-Concern in Synthetic Biology,” presentation at the Year 8 Synberc Spring Retreat, University of California, Berkeley, 26 March 2014.
- “The Value of Collaborative Framings in Gaining Access to, and Analyzing, Security Concerns in Research and Development” paper presented at the Society for the Social Studies of Science annual conference, San Diego, California, 12 October 2013.
- “Getting Security Off the Mind: When is It Ok to Not Think About the Security Aspects of Synthetic Biology” paper presented at the Issues and Non-issues in Science and Medicine Symposium, University of Exeter, 28 September 2013.
- “Whoops! How Did That Get Through? Knowledge and Ignorance at the Intersection of Academia and National Security” paper presented at the Society for the Social Studies of Science annual conference, Copenhagen, 16 October 2012.
- (with Walter Valdivia) “Export Controls and the Tensions Between Academic Freedom and National Security,” poster presented at the Gordon Science and Technology Policy Conference, Waterville Valley Resort Waterville Valley, NH, August 5-10, 2012.
- “Technology Control and Imagined International Orders,” paper presented to the Society for Philosophy and Technology conference, Denton Texas, 27 May 2011. Also presented to the UC Berkeley Center for Science, Technology, Medicine, & Society Brownbag seminar.
- “States, borders, and security: exports controls in physical space and cyberspace,” invited paper presented to Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation and the Program in Science,Technology, and Society, 10 January 2011. Also given at the Naval Postgrad School, 11 January 2011. Slides.
- “Imaginaries of State Security”, paper given at the Science Democracy Network annual meeting, in conjunction with the British Royal Society’s 350th celebrations, Kavli House, UK, 28-30 2010.
- “The Bounds of Applicability of Export Controls”, paper given at The Rightful Place of Science? conference at CSPO, Arizona State University, 16-19 May 2010.
- “Finding Common Ambiguity: what is left out of dual-use technology definitions”, paper given at the Uncertainty: Ambiguity and Doubt in Knowledge Production conference at Stanford University, 23-24 April 2010.
- “Technological Ambiguity in Export Controls: A tool for legitimacy?”, invited presentation to the Cornell University Peace Studies Program, jointly sponsored by the Cornell Department of Science & Technology Studies, 11 March 2010. (PDF of slides; Streaming quicktime movie of the slides)
- “How do we prevent the malicious use of technology? Can we?” Presentation the the New College Graduate Colloquium, University of Oxford, 22 October 2008.
- “Is it possible to define technologies to be controlled?” Talk given to the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies, California on 26 August 2008.
- “Governing trade in dual-use items: the problem of deï¬nition” Paper prepared for The 2008 Oxford/Sciences-Po Doctoral Seminar on Regional and Global Institutions in the 21st Century, 1 May 2008.
- “‘You want to control technology? Fine, give me a list.’ ‘It’s not that easy, sir.'”, Talk given to the James Martin 21st Century School Advanced Research Seminar Series, University of Oxford, 16 November 2007.
- “International Relations, Cultural Theory, and STS: Can these children learn to play together?”, Presentation given to the James Martin Institute Work in Progress Seminar, University of Oxford, 15 May 2007.
- “The Wassenaar Arrangement: The unsexiest of international regimes”, Invited talk given to CPASS Speaker Series, Georgetown University, 11 April 2007.
- “Governing the Unknown Knowns: A reply to Jerry Ravetz”, Presentation given to the James Martin Institute Work in Progress Seminar, University of Oxford, 31 October 2006.
- “Defining Dual-Use: An international assessment of the discourses around technology”, Talk given to the ESRC New Directions in Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation Workshop, King’s College London, 27 February 2006.
- “Pluralistic Tools for Policy Analysis,” Talk given to the Mid-Summer YSSP Workshop, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Austria, 20 July 2005.
Positions held
Current Positions
- Senior Policy Advisor, US National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology
- Research Affiliate, Center for International Studies, MIT (2014-Present)
Past Positions
- Senior Research Fellow, Program on Science, Technology, and Society, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University (2015-2023)
- Research Associate, John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University (2009-2011, 2015-2016, 2019-2023)
- Research Fellow, Harvard Data Science Initiative (HDSI) (2020-2023)
- Research Affiliate, Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, University of Cambridge (2019-2023)
- Research Assistant Professor, Program on Science, Technology, and Society, Tufts University (Spring 2017 – 2019)
- Lecturer, Program on Science, Technology, and Society, Tufts University (Spring 2016)
- Lecturer, Department for the History of Science, Harvard University (Spring 2015)
- Associate Director for Research, Center for Science, Technology, Medicine, & Society, University of California, Berkeley (2011-2014)
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Program on Science, Technology, & Society (John F. Kennedy School of Government), and the School of Engineering & Applied Science, Harvard University (2009-2011)
- Visiting Researcher, Security Studies Program, Center for Peace and Security Studies, Georgetown University (2006-2007)
- Research Assistant to Sir Crispin Tickell, Policy Foresight Programme, University of Oxford (2004-2008)
- Young Scientist Summer Program, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Vienna (2005)
- Summer Scholar, NASA Langley Research Center (1999-2001)
Grants & Awards
- “Building feedback loops for responsible innovation” sub-award from the NSF Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center (Synberc) (2015-2016). (Co-PI for overall Synberc NSF award SA5283-11210)
- “Modes of engagement for social scientists and synthetic biologists” sub-award from the NSF Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center (Synberc) (2014-2015). (Co-PI for overall Synberc NSF award SA5283-11210)
- (with Prof. David Winickoff) “Building options for redesigning synthetic biology’s security regulatory environment.” sub-award from the NSF Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center (Synberc) (2013-2014). Main NSF award number: SA5283-11210.
- Co-PI (with Profs. Brian Rappert, Brian Balmer) “The Formulation and Non-formulation of Security Concerns: Preventing the Destructive Application of the Life Sciences.” UK Economic and Social Research Council’s (ESRC) Science and Security Programme. Grant no. ES/K011308/1. (2013-2014)
- Wellcome Trust “Building a Sustainable Capacity in Dual-Use Bioethics” sub-award for “‘Taking care’ in synthetic biology’ book chapter. (2013).
- (with Professor David Winickoff) “Science Governance and Risk Futures in Synthetic Biology and Geoengineering.” Seed grant from the University of California Institute for Global Conflict and Cooperation. (2012-2013)
- PI “Revising Multilateral Export Control Lists.” Contract with the Flemish Peace Institute. (2012-2013)
- Next Generation Science and Technology Policy Leader (2010) Awarded by the Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes, Arizona State University.
- Dan Gowler Award (2004) Awarded for the best dissertation in the Management Faculty, University of Oxford.
Teaching
- “Numbers in Policy and Society.” (2021, 2022) Harvard University General Education Undergraduate Course (Co-Instructor with Sheila Jasanoff, (2021 teaching team also included L. Mahadevan and Keith Raffel))
- “Science, Technology and Society.” (2020) Harvard University John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Undergraduate Course (Co-Instructor with Sheila Jasanoff, L. Mahadevan, Keith Raffel, and Christopher Lawrence)
- “Beyond ‘Don’t be Evil’: Embedding your research in social contexts.” (2020-2023) Harvard University Program on Science, Technology and Society Graduate Research Seminar
- “Making Security: Science, Technology, and the Governance of Threats.” (2018) University of Vienna Department of Science and Technology Studies Graduate Course
- “Security, Science, and Technology” (2016) Harvard University Graduate Course, Harvard Kennedy School of Government
- “Technoscience & the State” (2016) Tufts University Undergraduate core course for degree in Science and Technology Studies
- “Science & Security” (2015) undergraduate course, History of Science, Harvard.
- “Science & Society” (2013) History undergraduate course, University of California, Berkeley. Instructor of Record
- “Introduction to Technology & Society” (2010-2012) Undergraduate core course, Harvard University. Head Teaching Fellow
- “Science & Security”(2005-2006) Tutorials for Stanford House (visiting students), University of Oxford.
- “Technology and Innovation Strategy”(2004-2005) MBA Programme, University of Oxford. Teaching Assistant.
Education
- DPhil (2009) New College, University of Oxford. Thesis title: Technological Ambiguity & the Wassenaar Arrangement. Supervisor: Prof. Steve Rayner
- MSc in Management Research (2004) New College, University of Oxford. Dissertation title: The governance of biotechnology at the World Trade Organization: a cultural theory framework. Supervisor: Prof. Steve Rayner
- Visiting Student (2002-2003) University of Oxford
- BA in Philosophy and Physics (2002) St. Olaf College, MN, USA
Other Activities
- Human Practices Judge and Committee Member for the International Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM) competition (2013-2023)
- Professional Development Coordinator, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford (2007-2008)
- Member of the Steering Committee for the Oxford Intelligence Group (2004-2009)
- President, Oxford University Strategic Studies Group (2003-2005)