Hilton Simmet is a Ph.D. candidate in Public Policy and a graduate research associate with the Program on Science, Technology and Society at Harvard Kennedy School. His research uses the methods of Science and Technology Studies (STS) and political theory to examine the constitutive role that scientific knowledge plays in addressing questions of public policy.

Drawing on several years of field work at leading research centers in the US, France and India, Hilton’s work reveals the ways in which scientific knowledge about poverty and inequality reflects foundational concerns for social justice in democratic societies. His comparative and cross-national dissertation includes an especial focus on the methods of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), historical economics, and participatory or “action-based” research. He aims through this research to understand how science and politics work in tandem to address some of the pressing issues of our time. Hilton is currently a graduate research associate at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs and the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute. In 2024 he received the prestigious Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy Award. Hilton holds an A.B. in Social Studies from Harvard College and an M.A. in Political Science from Yale University.

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