Tribune News Network
Doha
Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) will welcome Alondra Nelson, Harold F. Linder Professor of Social Science on the Institute for Advanced Study, for the spring 2026 version of the Dean’s Global Forum, going down on January 13, 2026, on the Events Hall on campus.
In a group dialog with Dean and CEO Marwan M. Kraidy, Nelson will be part of a dialog titled ‘AI: Purpose, Governance, and Public Benefit’, analyzing how synthetic intelligence is formed by—and, in flip, shapes—the social and political lifetime of science and know-how. Drawing on her educational analysis and public service, the dialogue will concentrate on how AI is designed, ruled, and used, and how questions of public profit inform its function in up to date society.
“At a moment when developments in science and technology are profoundly altering how people live, work, and communicate, this conversation could not be timelier,” stated Marwan M. Kraidy, dean and CEO of Northwestern Qatar.” Alondra Nelson brings uncommon depth and breadth as a distinguished scholar, a famous chief, and a public servant who has labored on the highest ranges of science and know-how coverage. Professor Nelson’s work speaks straight to questions central to our group: the ethics and politics of data manufacturing and the crucial to preserve innovation, together with in AI, targeted on human thriving and dignity. I’m thrilled to have this dialog with a novel colleague who has superior important conversations on the intersection of media, id, know-how, and society.”
Nelson is a longtime main scholar of race, science, and know-how and a serious educational and coverage voice on AI, with an in depth educational and management background. As the Harold F. Linder Professor of Social Science on the Institute for Advanced Study, she based and leads the Science, Technology, and Social Values Lab. Her analysis examines the social and political lifetime of science and know-how in society. Previously, Nelson served as president of the Social Science Research Council and as professor of sociology at Columbia University, the place she established the Division of Social Science and served as its first dean.
Beyond her educational work, Nelson has held senior roles in public service. Between 2021 and 2023, she was Deputy Assistant to the President and appearing director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. In these roles, she led the event of landmark federal scientific integrity insurance policies, superior public-access initiatives for federally funded analysis, guided U.S. science and know-how infrastructure technique, and helped form nationwide approaches to accountable AI governance, together with the landmark Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights.
Nelson is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the National Academy of Medicine. She was additionally named to Nature’s annual world “Ten People Who Shaped Science” checklist and to the inaugural TIME100 checklist of essentially the most influential individuals in AI, and served as a presidentially appointed member of the U.S. National Science Board.
Nelson joins a distinguished lineup of audio system featured via the Dean’s Global Forum at Northwestern Qatar, which is a public lecture and dialog collection that brings eminent leaders from academia, media, the humanities, and public affairs to campus. In dialogue with Dean Kraidy, audio system interact with enduring questions and urgent world points whereas reflecting on their skilled journeys and lived experiences.