Program on Science, Technology and Society at Harvard

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Good Science for Good Politics: Scientific Advice and Policy-making in the European Union

Carlos Moedas

European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation; Former Secretary of State to Portugal

April 19, 2017, 5:00pm-7:00pm
Science Center Lecture Hall A, 1 Oxford Street, Harvard University

Abstract

Over a year ago, Carlos Moedas, EU Commissioner for Science and Innovation, launched SAM - the Scientific Advice Mechanism, a new model to incorporate in a structured way the inputs of the scientific community in the decisions taken by the European Commission. In this talk, Mr. Moedas will address the rising importance of scientific advice in policy making, the need to build partnerships of trust between scientists and politicians, and the vital place of science in our contentious political environment. Video of this lecture is located here.

Panel

John Holdren

Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy; Former Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama on Science and Technology

Rush D. Holt

Chief Executive Officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives

Venky Narayanamurti

Benjamin Peirce Research Professor of Technology and Public Policy; Professor of Physics

Moderated by

Sheila Jasanoff

Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies

About the speaker

Carlos Moedas is a member of the European Commission, and is Commissioner in charge of the portfolio on Research, Science and Innovation. Born in Portugal, he graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering from the Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) in Lisbon in 1993, and studied at École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées in Paris. He worked as an engineer in France until 1998. He received an MBA from Harvard Business School in 2000, and afterwards worked at the London branch of Goldman Sachs. In 2004, he returned to Portugal to work at Aguirre Newman as Managing Director, and in 2008 founded his own investment company, Crimson Investment Management. In 2011 he was elected to the National Parliament of Portugal, and was appointed Secretary of State to the Prime Minister. In 2014, he was nominated as European Commissioner.

Co-sponsored by the Harvard University Center for the Environment, the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.