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Science, Technology, and the Human Future

The McQuillan Institute is dedicated to fostering research, supporting emerging scholars, and stimulating policy change at the intersection of science, technology, and society. Led by John F. McQuillan and Professor Sheila Jasanoff, the Institute aims to link advances in science and technology to democracy, environmental sustainability, and ethical governance.
INNOVATIVE

Leading the Way in Research

At the McQuillan Institute, we are committed to pushing the boundaries of research on science, technology, and society. Our team of advisers is committed to sponsoring scholarship that will shape the future and address the most pressing challenges of our time.

Expertise

Access to world-class universities and an international network of researchers to foreground issues of global significance.

Collaboration

Opportunities to collaborate with leading research organizations and experts across the sciences, the humanities, and public policy.

INFLUENTIAL

Leading the Way in Training

The McQuillan Institute is dedicated to the development of emerging scholars through graduate fellowships, support for international meetings, cross-disciplinary projects, and career development awards.

Funding

We support graduate education, workshops and conferences, and cross-disciplinary research projects.

Opportunities

We invite applications from junior scholars whose work shows exceptional intellectual promise and policy relevance.

INTERACTIVE

Leading the Way in Policy

The McQuillan Institute harnesses knowledge for policy. We sponsor high-profile events and timely reports on issues at the frontiers of science, technology, and society with the potential to change humanity. We favor projects that foreground ethics and promote democracy.

Expanding Frontiers

We sponsor work on ethics and policy at the frontiers genetics, artificial intelligence, and environmental science and technology.

Building Connections

Opportunities to network with international scholars and experts on pressing policy needs. 
INNOVATIVE

Leading the Way in Research

At the McQuillan Institute, we are committed to pushing the boundaries of research on science, technology, and society. Our team of advisers is committed to sponsoring scholarship that will shape the future and address the most pressing challenges of our time.

Expertise

Access to world-class universities and an international network of researchers to foreground issues of global significance.

Collaboration

Opportunities to collaborate with leading research organizations and experts across the sciences, the humanities, and public policy.

INFLUENTIAL

Leading the Way in Training

The McQuillan Institute is dedicated to the development of emerging scholars through graduate fellowships, support for international meetings, cross-disciplinary projects, and career development awards.

Funding

We support graduate education, workshops and conferences, and cross-disciplinary research projects.

Opportunities

We invite applications from junior scholars whose work shows exceptional intellectual promise and policy relevance.

INTERACTIVE

Leading the Way in Policy

The McQuillan Institute harnesses knowledge for policy. We sponsor high-profile events and timely reports on issues at the frontiers of science, technology, and society with the potential to change humanity. We favor projects that foreground ethics and promote democracy.

Expanding Frontiers

We sponsor work on ethics and policy at the frontiers genetics, artificial intelligence, and environmental science and technology.

Building Connections

Opportunities to network with international scholars and experts on pressing policy needs. 
DISCOVER

Events

Stay updated on our events, convenings, and workshops.
Convenings

October 29, 2026

A Constitution for the 21st Century

American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, PA

Join us as we travel to the cradle of the American Revolution in Philadelphia to ask: How are the few empowered to know for the many? And how do we hold them to account?

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Convenings

September 11-12, 2026

A Constitution for the 21st Century

Boston Public Library, Boston, MA

Join us as we launch our first major project. Centering on the theme of democracy, this convening foregrounds the promises and challenges of citizenship in the midst of a technological revolution.

Keynotes by:

Jill Lepore, Harvard University

Leo Varadkar, former Taoiseach of Ireland

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Convenings

May 21-23, 2025

International Summit on Genome Editing 

Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

Watch for the Global Observatory’s program for an international summit on genome editing and other biotechnologies.

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Events

October 24, 2024

McQuillan Institute Opening Night

Harvard Arts Museum
Celebrating the launch of the McQuillan Institute for Science, Technology and the Human Future.
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Events

October 25, 2024

McQuillan Institute Launch

Harvard University, Cambridge MA

Join us for an exciting day of panel discussions with experts from around the globe on some of the timeliest science, technology, and society topics of our generation.

Panels include:

AI and Digital Technologies
Sustainability and the Environment
Law, Science and Technology
STS, Expertise and Democracy

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Convenings

August 29-31, 2024

2024 Science & Democracy Network Annual Meeting

ETH Zürich (Switzerland)
The 23rd Annual Meeting of SDN will foreground research at the nexus of science, technology and political orders.
View event
Convenings

May 21-23, 2024

International Summit on Genome Editing 

Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Watch for the Global Observatory’s program for an international summit on genome editing and other biotechnologies.
NEWS

Stay Informed with Us

Get the latest news and key research products here.
All

Comparative Covid Response: Crisis, Knowledge, Politics

This 121-page report is the first synthesizing publication of Comparative Covid Response: Crisis, Knowledge, Politics (CompCoRe) – a cross-national study of the policy responses of 16 countries across five continents.
Comp-Core Team

Jan 12, 2021

Research

Technologies of Humility

Policy-makers need to recognize the partiality of scientific knowledge and to act under uncertainty to protect the most vulnerable.

Sheila Jasanoff

June 29, 2021

Events

AI & Democracy

This event brought together leading voices on AI and related policy issues and featured prominent figures from government, civil society, academia, and the private sector.
Bill de Blasio
Sherry Turkle
Jody Williams
Ted Lieu
VIEW ALL

Events

Boston Environmentalist and Harvard Professor Launch New Institute to Fund Research on Intersection of Science, Technology, and Society

The Institute will support democracy, environmental sustainability, and ethical governance.
CTP Boston
October 25, 2024
All

Comparative Covid Response: Crisis, Knowledge, Politics

This 121-page report is the first synthesizing publication of Comparative Covid Response: Crisis, Knowledge, Politics (CompCoRe) – a cross-national study of the policy responses of 16 countries across five continents.
Comp-Core Team

Jan 12, 2021

Research

Technologies of Humility

Policy-makers need to recognize the partiality of scientific knowledge and to act under uncertainty to protect the most vulnerable.

Sheila Jasanoff

June 29, 2021

Events

AI & Democracy

This event brought together leading voices on AI and related policy issues and featured prominent figures from government, civil society, academia, and the private sector.
Bill de Blasio
Sherry Turkle
Jody Williams
Ted Lieu
LEADERSHIP

Our Leadership

Meet the creative minds behind our institute.
John McQuillan
Founder & Director
John McQuillan serves as Chairman and CEO of the 2,000-person company he founded nearly forty years ago, Triumvirate Environmental, an environmental advisory firm focused on complex environmental challenges facing some of the world’s most complex and consequential organizations, benefitting some two trillion dollars in customer assets. In addition to his professional pursuits, Mr. McQuillan has advised more than one hundred political campaigns and serves or has served as director, trustee, or patron for more than fifty mission-driven organizations, concentrated in the areas of: excellence in education, healthcare, environmental protection, workforce development, and scientific discovery. Mr. McQuillan earned a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and government & legal studies from Bowdoin College. In his leisure time, he enjoys science, politics, and the arts, as well as, Boston sports, skiing, and travel. Mr. McQuillan lives in Cambridge, with his wife Elizabeth, and daughters.
Sheila Jasanoff
Founder & Director
Sheila Jasanoff is Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies at the Harvard Kennedy School, where she founded and directs the STS Program. Her research has fundamentally shaped how we think about the intersections of science, technology, policy, and law in the modern world. Before coming to Harvard, Sheila founded and chaired the STS Department at Cornell University. In 2022, she was awarded the Holberg Prize in recognition of her pioneering contributions to the social sciences and humanities, particularly in advancing the field of STS. Born in Kolkata, India, Sheila moved to the U.S. in 1956. She holds an A.B. in mathematics from Radcliffe College, a Ph.D. in Linguistics from Harvard, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. She lives in Cambridge with her husband, Jay Jasanoff, Diebold Professor of Indo-European Linguistics at Harvard. Their son and daughter are professors at MIT and Harvard, respectively.
INNOVATIVE

Scientific Advisory Committee

Aziza Ahmed
BU Law School
Margarita Boenig-Liptsin
ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Gabriel Dorthe
ETH Zurich, Switzerland
J. Benjamin Hurlbut
Arizona State University
Brice Laurent
Ecole des Mines, Paris
Sebastian Pfotenhauer
TU Munich
Søren Riis
Roskilde University, Denmark
Stefan Schäfer
Stefan Schäfer, RIFS Potsdam
Kasper Schiølin
Aarhus University, Denmark
Melanie Smallman
University College London
Kaushik Sunder Rajan
University of Chicago

Learn About Our Impact

Hear what people in the research community have to say about STS.
I would emphasize the work to make visible the invisible in the study of science and technology. Women, people of color, and so many communities have been ignored, overlooked, and harmed by approaches meant to establish truth or deploy technology systems. Engaging with, listening to, and making visible the histories, needs, and insights of the people and communities that risk being invisible to policymakers is an ongoing but vital project.
Arthur Daemmrich
Arizona State University
I have benefitted tremendously from the ability to spend a year immersed in the field of Science, Technology and Society with a group of young scholars from around the world while I was a fellow. These benefits extend far beyond the reading, learning and writing we did together. They include friendship, trust and a shared set of intellectual commitments and curiosities. Many of these commitments and curiosities continue to inform my work today, which I believe attests to their enduring nature.
Tijs van Maasakkers
Ohio State University

Learn More about Research & Events

Stay ahead with the Institute’s latest research papers and event registrations.
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