From the digital revolution to bioinformatics, from global warming to sustainability, and from national security to renewable energy, technology plays a critical role in shaping our lives. This talk takes on the question of what the future of liberal education means, and the bridging of the humanistic condition with technological and economic advancement. It will elaborate on technology as an object of politics, democracy and the public face of science. The intent is to discuss the ways in which future global leaders and citizens can begin to address the 21st century challenges facing society.
Prof Venkatesh Narayanamurti is the Benjamin Peirce Research Professor of Technology and Public Policy in the John A Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Kennedy School of Government. From 2009 to 2015 he was Benjamin Peirce Professor of Technology and Public Policy and Professor of Physics at Harvard and concurrently served as Director of the Science, Technology and Public Policy Program at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. He was formerly the John L Armstrong Professor and Founding Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Dean of Physical Sciences at Harvard. Previously he served as the Richard A Auhll Professor and Dean of Engineering at the University of California at Santa Barbara. Prior to that he was Vice President of Research at Sandia National Laboratories and Director of Solid State Electronics Research at Bell Labs.
V Narayanamurti obtained his PhD in Physics from Cornell University and has an Honorary Doctorate from Tohoku University. He is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering and the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, and a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the IEEE, the World Academy of Science, the Indian National Academy of Engineering and the Indian Academy of Sciences. He has served on numerous advisory boards of the federal government, research universities, National Laboratories and industry. From 2011 to 2015 he served as the Foreign Secretary of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering. He currently serves on the Board of Directors and the Academic Council of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is the author of more than 240 scientific papers in different areas of condensed matter and applied physics and the author of two books. He has written extensively and lectures widely on solid state, Energy technologies, computer, and communication technologies, technology education in a liberal arts environment, and on the management of science, technology and public policy.