Sam Weiss Evans

About

Experimental governance at work

Sam Weiss Evans is a Senior Advisor at the Federation of American Scientists, working to bring about foundational biosecurity and biosafety governance reform, and using that as a test of larger reforms in the science-state-security relationship.

Government reform

At FAS, this includes building the political momentum for a paradigm shift in how the US understands what makes emerging biotechnology concerning, and the technical process for enacting that shift across government and society. He recently completed a term as Senior Policy Advisor for the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology, where he led the Commission’s work on biosecurity, biosafety, and responsible innovation.

Prior to NSCEB, Sam was a Senior Research Fellow at Harvard University, jointly with the Kennedy School’s Program on Science, Technology & Society, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and the Data Science Initiative.

Academic background

Sam’s academic background is in science and technology studies, critical security studies, and organizational analysis. His D.Phil, from Oxford, studied the dual-use list modification processes of the Wassenaar Arrangement, a multilateral export control regime. He has also held positions in the STS programs at UC Berkeley and Tufts, and maintains a Research Affiliate position with MIT’s Program on Emerging Technology.

Degrees

D.Phil, Management
University of Oxford, 2009

M.Sc, Management Research
University of Oxford, 2004

B.A., Physics & Philosophy
St. Olaf College, 2002

Research affiliations

MIT Program on Emerging Technology · Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes, Arizona State University

Projects & work

Selected work

Two tracks of the same project: redesigning how government can learn from experiments in governing emerging technology, and building those experiments within academia and other institutions.

Government & policy

  • 2026–present

    Biosecurity governance reform, FAS

    As Senior Advisor at the Federation of American Scientists, leading foundational reform of US biosecurity and biosafety governance. Building the political momentum and the technical process to enact a paradigm shift across government.

    Federation of American Scientists

  • 2023–2025

    Security, safety & responsible innovation, NSCEB

    Led the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology’s work on biosecurity, biosafety, standards, and responsible innovation as Senior Policy Advisor.

    US National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology

  • 2018–2022

    LEEDR advisory panel, DARPA Safe Genes

    Advised DARPA on the legal, ethical, environmental, dual-use, and responsible research dimensions of its Safe Genes Program.

    Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

  • 2021–present

    Council & security working group member

    Council member of the Engineering Biology Research Consortium, and member of its Security Working Group, shaping national engineering biology security policy.

    Engineering Biology Research Consortium

Institution & capacity building

  • 2013–2023

    Human Practices, iGEM

    Member, then Co-Chair of Human Practices for the international Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM) competition, training a generation of synthetic biologists to attend to the broader aspects of their work.

    International Genetically Engineered Machines Foundation

  • 2019-2023

    Curriculum redesign

    Worked to reform the entire undergraduate curriculum for Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences to attend to the broader ethical, security, and social aspects of engineering. Ran a yearly graduate training seminar, Beyond ‘Don’t be Evil’: Embedding your research in social contexts, to provide a pathway for engineers to engage more with the economic, political, social, and other dimensions of their work.

    Harvard University

  • 2013–2016

    Policy & Practices, Synberc

    Worked within the Policy and Practices component of the NSF Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center, experimenting with how to enable research teams across many universities to better engage with the safety, security, and responsible innovation aspects of their work.

    National Science Foundation

Selected writing

“Transforming American Biosecurity.” Federation of American Scientists, 2026.

“Embrace Experimentation in Biosecurity Governance.” Science, 2020.

“When All Research Is Dual Use.” Issues in Science and Technology, 2022.

“Science, technology, and security: towards critical collaboration.” Social Studies of Science, 2020.