Bio

Calestous Juma is and internationally-recognized authority on the application of science and technology to sustainable development. He is Professor of the Practice of International Development, Faculty Chair of the Innovation for Economic Development Executive Program and Director of the Science, Technology, and Globalization Project at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS). He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on science, technology, innovation and sustainability. He also directs the School’s Agricultural Innovation in Africa Project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He has been elected to several prestigious scientific academies including the Royal Society of London, the US National Academy of Sciences, the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), the UK Royal Academy of Engineering and the African Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Juma serves on the board of trustees of the Aga Khan University and is co-chairs the African Union’s High-Level Panel on Science, Technology and Innovation. He was a member of the judging panel of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering and the Rolex Awards for Enterprise. He was the first permanent Executive Secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and founding Executive Director of the African Centre for Technology Studies in Nairobi. He was Chancellor of the University of Guyana, member of the National Social and Economic Council of the President of Kenya, and Special Advisor to the International Whaling Commission. He co-chaired the Science, Technology and Innovation Panel of UN Millennium Project commissioned by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the African High-Level Panel on Modern Biotechnology of the African Union.

Dr. Juma holds a D.Phil in science and technology policy studies from the University of Sussex (UK) and has received several international awards and honorary degrees for his work on sustainable development. He is editor of the peer-reviewed International Journal of Technology and Globalisation and the International Journal of Biotechnology. His latest book, The New Harvest: Agricultural Innovation in Africa, was published in 2011 by Oxford University Press.

Soon after his arrival to MIT as an MLK Visiting Professor in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Dr. Juma was awarded a LAAP Prize (Lifetime Africa Achievement Prize) by the Millennium Excellence Foundation for his leadership in socio-economic development in Africa. He also served as moderator for “Africa Rebooted,” a wide-ranging public symposium hosted by the Center for International Studies at the Whitehead Institute.

Publications

2011. Feeding the Next Generation: Science, Business, and Public Policy. Belfer Center for Science and International Affiars, Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, USA (co-editor). 

2011. The New Harvest: Agricultural Innovation in Africa. Oxford University Press, New York. 

2010. Health Innovation in Sub-Saharan Africa. Special Issue of the BMC International Health and Human Rights, Vol. 10, Supplement 1. 

2009. World Development Report 2010: Development and Climate Change. World Bank, Washington, DC (substantial contributor on technological innovation). 

2009. The Future of Biofuels and National Energy Strategy: US Perspectives. Special Issue of the International Journal of Biotechnology, Vol. 11, No.1/2. Inderscience Publishers, Oxford, UK. 13 

2008. Engineering Change: Towards a Sustainable Future in the Developing World. Royal Academy of Engineering, London (co-editor). 

2008. Global Challenges and Directions for Agricultural Biotechnology. National Academies Press, Washington, DC (Committee Chair) 

2008. Lost Crops of Africa: Fruits. Volume III. National Academy Press, Washington, DC (Contributor to a Study of the National Research Council). 

2007. Freedom to Innovate: Biotechnology in Africa‘s Economic Development. African Union, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 

2006. Lost Crops of Africa: Vegetables. Volume II. National Academy Press, Washington, DC (Contributor to a Study of the National Research Council). 

2006. Redesigning African Economies: The Role of Engineering in International Development. 2006 Hinton Lecture, Royal Academy of Engineering, London. 

2006. Reinventing African Economies: Technological Innovation and the Sustainability Transition. 6th John Pesek Colloquium on Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA. 

2006. Science and Innovation in Africa: New Strategies for Economic Growth. Special Issue of the International Journal of Technology and Globalization, Vol. 2, No.3/4. Inderscience Publishers, Oxford, UK. 

2006. The New Global Biosociety: Innovation, Security and Development. Special Issue of the International Journal of Biotechnology, Vol. 8, No.1/2. Inderscience Publishers, Oxford, UK. 

2005. Going for Growth: Science, Technology and Innovation in Africa. The Smith Institute, London. 

2005. Innovation: Applying Knowledge in Development. United Nations Millennium Project. Earthscan Publications (lead author with Lee Yee-Cheong). 

2002. Biotechnology and the Precautionary Principle. Special Issue of the International Journal of Biotechnology, Vol. 4, No.1. Inderscience Publishers, Oxford, UK. 

2002. Knowledge and Diplomacy: Science Advice in the United Nations System. National Academy Press, Washington, DC (Contributor to a Study of the National Research Council). 

2002. Down to Earth: Geographical Information for Sustainable Development in Africa. National Academy Press, Washington, DC (Contributor to a Study of the National Research Council). 

2000. Biotechnology in the Global Economy. Special Issue of the International Journal of Biotechnology, Vol. 2, No.1/2/3. Inderscience Publishers, Oxford, UK. 

2000. Science, Technology and Economic Growth: Africa's Biopolicy Agenda in the 21st Century. United Nations University/Institute for Natural Resources in Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (Annual Lectures on Natural Resource Conservation and Management in Africa. November, 1999). 

1996. In Land We Trust: Environment, Private Property and Constitutional Change. Zed Books, London and Initiatives Publishers, Nairobi (co-edited with J.B. Ojwang), pp. 462. 

1995. Economic Policy Reforms and the Environment: African Experiences. Geneva: United Nations Environment Programme (co-written with Hugh Monteith, Hartmut Krugmann, Tobias Angura, Herbert Acquay, Akino Anthony E., Philip Wandera and John Mugabe), pp. 214. 

1994. Coming to Life: Biotechnology in African Economic Recovery. Nairobi: Acts Press and Zed Books, London (co-edited with John Mugabe and Patricia Kameri-Mbote), pp. 192. 

1994. Biodiplomacy: Genetic Resources and International Relations. Nairobi: Acts Press (co-edited with Vicente Sánchez), pp. 370. 

1993. The Adaptive Economy: Economic Crisis and Technological Change, Nairobi: Acts Press (with C. Torori and C.C.M. Kirima), pp. 204. 14 

1991. Biotechnology and Sustainable Development: Policy Options for Developing Countries, Acts Press, Nairobi (with Norman Clark), pp. 112. 

1991. A Change in the Weather: African Perspectives on Climatic Change, Acts Press, Nairobi (co-edited with S.H. Ominde), pp. 210. 

1989. The Gene Hunters: Biotechnology and the Scramble for Seeds, Zed Press, London and Princeton University Press, pp. 288. 

1989. Innovation and Sovereignty: The Patent Debate in African Development, African Centre for Technology Studies, Nairobi (co-edited with J.B. Ojwang), pp. 252. 

1989. Gaining Ground: Institutional Innovations in Land-use Management in Kenya, Acts Press, Nairobi (co-edited with Amos Kiriro), pp. 228. 

1989. Biotechnological Diversity and Innovation: Conserving and Utilizing Genetic Resources in Kenya, Acts Press, Nairobi, pp. 139. 

1987. Long-Run Economics: An Evolutionary Approach to Economic Growth, Pinter Publishers, London (with Norman Clark), pp. 206.

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At MIT