Lewis M. Branscomb
lbranscomb@ucsd.edu
Phone: (858) 454-6871
Fax: (858) 534-3939
1600 Ludington Lane
La Jolla, CA 92037
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Education
Ph.D., Harvard University, 1950 (physics)
M.A., Harvard University, 1947 (physics)
B.A. summa cum laude, Duke University, 1945 (physics and mathematics)
Programs and Centers
Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC)
California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (CAL-IT2)
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, J.F.Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Biography
For more extended biography, a complete CV, and a chronological listing of publications since 1949, click here.
Perspectives
Branscomb is knowledgable on risks and strategies for successful seed stage, high-tech innovations, and public policies intended to foster such innovations in the economy. He has 50 years of experience in public policy as it relates to both the fostering of scientific capability, and its application to public purposes by government. He has books on public policies to foster the advance of science and technical innovation in Japan, Korea, and Mexico as well as the U.S.A. More recently he has become knowledgable about the scientific and technical dimensions of counter-terrorism and of disasters of all kinds of origins, with special emphasis on the vulnerabilty and lack of resilience in critical infrastructure services in the economy. He is also deeply interested in the threats to democracy in the U.S.A. that may arise from the loss of rationallity in democratic governance, the deliberate distortion for political ends of scientific and technical advice to government.
Current Projects
Branscomb and colleagues from IGCC and George Mason University have recently completed a tool for developing a masters level, interdisciplinary curriculum in critical infrastructure protection. The project now being planned is an extension of this curriculum to a one week executive program, as part of a longer term collaboration with a set of private critical infrastructure firms intended both to assist firms in reducing their vulnerability and increase the resilience of their services, but also to foster a constructive dialog with government on public policies intended to stimulate private investment to these ends. All of this work rests in part on a book (edited and authored by colleagues in IGCC, George Mason University, and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and published in September 2006).
Branscomb also serves as an advisor to a number of international projects: (a) a project at the Tokyo Institute of Technology concerned with fostering science-based innovation in Japan while preserving important dimensions of Japanese culture in the institutions of innovation; (b) the creation of a prize competition for the best ideas for fostering innovations in Bangladesh, under the leadership of Iqbal Quadir at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government; and (c) collaboration with the Russian Academy of Sciences on science and technology strategies for reducing the risk and consequence of disasters, including terrorism.
Finally Branscomb is co-founder and now co-chair with Professor Viktor Mayer-Schoenberger of Harvard of the Rueschlikon Conference on the Law and Public Policy in the Information, Computer and Communication Industries. Sponsored by the Swiss Re Center for Global Dialogue, the forthcoming conference in June 2007 will address governance in the ICT industry in a world of extensive globalization in this industry.
Background Notes
Branscomb began his professional life exploring the physics of free negative ions of atoms and diatomic molecules. He was first to develop a working crossed-beam apparatus for negative ion spectroscopy and for a decade had this capability uniquely in the world. He then branched out into applications of atomic and molecular physics to atmospheres of stars, to chemical aeronomy, and other applications, which led to a broad range of advisory roles to agencies of government both in the U.S. and abroad. Since becoming Director of the National Bureau of Standards (now National Institute of Standards and Technology), he has focused his research on issues of public policy and corporate management of research and its applications.
Branscomb joined the research staff of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in the spring of 2005 and the faculty (as adjunct professor) of IR/PS in 2006. He continues to serve as professor emeritus in Public Policy and Corporate Management in Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, where he collaborates with Ant Boskaya, a Belgium citizen of Turkish origin, working on policies for the Belgium office of Prime Minister on promotion of innovation in the economy. Branscomb also serves on the Board of Directors of the Belfer Center for Science and Internatilonal Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Professional Activities
In addition to the activities listed above, Branscomb is a former chair of the Committee on Scholarly Communications with the People's Republic of China, and continues his interest in Chinese S&T policy through ciollaborations with colleagues at Tsinghua University in Beijing. In February 2007, he organized and will preside over a symposium on "America's Achilles Heel: Critical Infrastructure Services in Time of Disaster." Also in February, 2007, he chairs an advisory committee to the National Academy of Engineering which is organizing a symposium on electronic voting at the annual west coast meeting of the NAE at Irvine, CA.
On the private sector side of his professional activities, he serves as Director, and chair of the Strategy Committee of the Lord Corporation, headquartered in Cary NC, a high tech firm specializing in polymer chemistry and electro-mechanical systems for controlling vibration and noise in a broad range of industrial and military applications.
Research Interests
Science, Technology and Public Policy, domestic and international, concerning both policy for science and science for policy.
Publications of Note
Branscomb, Lewis M. "Science, Politics and American Democracy." Issues in Science and Technology 21.1 (2004): 53-59.
Auerswald, Philip E., and Lewis M. Branscomb. "Valleys of Death and Darwinian Seas: Financing the Invention to Innovation Transition in the United States." Journal of Technology Transfer 28 (2003): 227-39.
Making the Nation Safer: The Role of Science and Technology in Countering Terrorism. Washington, D.C.: National Academy, 2002. Lewis M. Branscomb and Richard Klausner co-chairs.
Branscomb, Lewis M., and Philip E. Auerswald. Taking Technical Risks: How Innovators, Executives, and Investors Manage High-tech Risks. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2001.
Branscomb, Lewis M. "The False Dichotomy: Scientific Creativity and Utility." Issues in Science and Technology 16.3 (1999).
Branscomb, Lewis M., Fumio Kodama, and Richard Florida, eds. Industrializing Knowledge: University-Industry Links in Japan and the United States. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 1999.
Branscomb, Lewis M., and James Keller, eds. Investing in Innovation: Creating a Research and Innovation Policy That Works. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 1998.
Branscomb, Lewis M., and Young Hwan Choi. Korea at the Turning Point: An Innovation-Based Strategy for Development. Westport, CT: Prager, 1997.
Branscomb, Lewis M. Confessions of a Technophile. Woodbury, NY: AIP, American Institute of Physics, 1995.
Recent Publications
Auerswald, Philip, Lewis M. Branscomb, Todd M. La Porte, and Erwann Michel-Kerjan, eds. Seeds of Disaster, Roots of Response: How Private Actions Can Reduce Public Vulnerability. New York, NY: Cambridge UP, 2006.
Branscomb, Lewis M. "Sustainable Cities: Safety and Security." Technology in Society 28.1-2 (2006): 225-34.
Auerswald, Philip, Lewis M. Branscomb, Todd M. La Porte, and Erwan Michel-Kerjan. "The Challenge of Protecting Critical Infrastructure." Issues in Science and Technology 22.1 (2005): 77-83.
Auerswald, Philip, and Lewis M. Branscomb. "Reflections on Mansfield, Technological Complexity, and the 'Golden Age' of U.S. Corporate R&D." The Journal of Technology Transfer 30.1-2 (2004): 139-57.
