DIRECTOR’S FOREWORD October 7, 2021: Ash Carter and Natalie Colbert join Belfer Center Student Fellows for a group photo.
From the Director An elementary law of physics states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. I like to think that a similar phenomenon exists in the Belfer Center’s line of work. In fact, I believe the principle of it is encoded in our DNA: when challenges and crises arise, we respond—and often with greater force and determination. 2021 demonstrated this phenomenon repeatedly. Our community of faculty, staff, students, and fellows rose to meet daunting challenges with extraordinary resolve and expertise. They were unwavering in our mission to advance policy-relevant knowledge and train the next generation of leaders in science, technology, and international affairs. With these arenas at the forefront of domestic and global conversation, the
Center played a critical role this year in advising decision makers across the public and private sector as they grappled with difficult challenges. • The Homeland Security Project advised leaders on pandemic recovery, including vaccine rollout and immunity to variants. • The Future of Diplomacy Project mapped crucial contours for the Biden administration’s foreign policy agenda. • The Technology and Public Purpose Project analyzed the impact of disruptive digital and biotechnologies, such as social media recommendation systems and mRNA therapeutics. • The Environment and Natural Resources Program offered innovative research and policy options to address the worsening climate crisis.
ANNUAL REPORT 2021
• A group of Center experts, including myself and Co-Director Eric Rosenbach, provided a retrospective analysis on the war in Afghanistan. And this list is just scratching the surface. I often say that our most important product is people. The Center is proud that well over a dozen of our community members have answered the call to serve in the Biden administration: Nick Burns as U.S. Ambassador to China; Wendy Sherman as U.S. Deputy Secretary of State; Bonnie Jenkins as the Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs; Eric Lander as Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and Science Advisor to the President; Samantha Power as Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International
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