Expert Guide

CIS faculty and scholars are available to members of the media who seek comment and background information on issues related to international affairs. The best way to reach our experts is to contact them directly. If additional information is needed, please contact Michelle English, the Center’s Communications Officer.

CIS faculty and scholars are available to members of the media who seek comment and background information on issues related to international affairs. The best way to reach our experts is to contact them directly. If additional information is needed, please contact Michelle English, the Center’s Communications Officer.

A B C d E F G H J K L M N O P R S T U V W
Akintunde Akinwande

Thomas and Gerd Perkins Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Faculty Director, Empowering the Teachers

Expertise: International education, electrical engineering and computer science, microstructures and nanostructures for sensors and actuators, vacuum microelectronics, devices for large area electronics and flat panel displays
akinwand@mtl.mit.edu617-258-7974 39-553
Robert Art

Christian A Herter Professor of International Relations Emeritus, Brandeis University
Director Emeritus, Seminar XXI 
Senior Fellow, Security Studies Program

Expertise: International relations, US foreign policy, national security policy
art@brandeis.edu781-736-2754 Olin-Sang American Civilization Center, 109
Mercedes Balcells-Camps

Principal Research Scientist, Institute of Medical Engineering & Science
Faculty Director, MIT-Spain

Expertise: International education, medical engineering, tissue engineering
merche@mit.edu617-324-0054E25-438
Eran Ben-Joseph

Professor, Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Faculty Director, MIT-Israel

Expertise: International education, landscape architecture and urban planning, urban and physical design, standards and regulations, sustainable site planning technologies, urban retrofitting
ebj@mit.edu 617-253-73059-532

CV

Suzanne Berger

Institute Professor

Expertise: Political economy (France and Italy), Europe (effects of globalization, politics, and labor), globalization (competitiveness, effects of globalization on institutions, history of globalization in France)
szberger@mit.edu617-253-6640E53-451

CV

Anat Biletzki

Albert Schweitzer Professor of Philosophy
Quinnipiac University
Co-founding director, Human Rights and Technology Program

Expertise: Human rights, Israel-Palestine, ethnic conflict/politics, political language
Anat.Biletzki@quinnipiac.edu617-407-1167
Joel Brenner

CIS Senior Research Fellow

Expertise: Cyber-security; data protection; data privacy
brennerj@mit.edu617-324-2622E40-444A
John Brisson

Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty Director, MIT-Singapore
Director of MIT/SUTD Collaboration Office

Expertise: International education, mechanical engineering, cryogenics, applied physics
brisson@mit.edu617-253-22733-256/8

CV

Phil Budden

Senior Lecturer, Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management
Faculty Director, MIT-United Kingdom

Expertise: International education, entrepreneurship, economic, financial and technology policies, British diplomacy
pbudden@mit.eduE62-486

CV

Markus J. Buehler

Jerry McAfee (1940) Professor in Engineering
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Faculty Director, MIT-Germany

Expertise: International education, materials science, mechanics of natural and biological protein materials, large-scale atomistic modeling, protein based materials and biopolymers, interaction of chemistry and mechanics
mbuehler@mit.edu617-452-27501-165

CV

Nazli Choucri

Professor, Political Science

Expertise: International conflict, cyberpolitics, sustainability, cyberspace
nchoucri@mit.edu617-253-6198E53-493

CV
Personal website

Jung-Hoon Chun

Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty Director, Jae S. Lim MIT-Korea Program

Expertise: International education, mechanical engineering, manufacturing processes, droplet-based manufacturing, microelectronics manufacturing, automotive manufacturing, polymer-based microfluidic devices manufacturing, fuel cell manufacturing, pharmaceutical manufacturing
jchun@mit.edu617-253-175935-233

CV

Cathy Culot

Lecturer in French
Faculty Co-Director, MIT-Belgium

Expertise: International education, French language, arts in teaching language and culture, bilingualism and cultural identity, visual media in language education
cculot@mit.edu617-253-436214N-334
Areg Danagoulian

Associate Professor, Nuclear Science and Engineering
Faculty Co-Director, MIT-Eurasia

Expertise: International education, nuclear science and engineering, nuclear physics, nuclear materials and weapons, cargo screening, treaty verification, physical cryptography
aregjan@mit.edu 617-324-632924-220

CV

Olivier de Weck

Apollo Program Professor
Professor of Astronautics and Engineering Systems
Co-Director, Small Satellite Collaborative
Faculty Director, MIT-Switzerland Program

Expertise: International education, aerospace engineering, systems engineering, technology management, astronautics and space logistics, multidisciplinary design optimization, remote sensing, earth observation
deweck@mit.edu617-253-025533-410

CV

David Edelman

CIS Research Fellow

Expertise: Cyber-security; data protection; data privacy; foreign policy; security studies
rde@mit.edu
Lerna Ekmekcioglu

McMillan-Stewart Career Development Associate Professor of History

Expertise: Modern Middle Eastern history
lerna@mit.edu617-253-9621E51-273

CV

William J Fallon Expertise: Afghanistan, Iraq, military issues fallon@mit.edu617-253-8093
M Taylor Fravel

Arthur and Ruth Sloan Professor of Political Science
Director, Security Studies Program

 

Expertise: Asian security, East Asian foreign policy, Chinese politics and military policy, international relations, conflict resolution
fravel@mit.edu617-324-0222E40-471

CV
@fravel
Personal website

Eugene Gholz

Associate Professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs
University of Texas at Austin

Expertise: National security, defense, U.S. foreign policy
egholz@alum.mit.edu512-471-5882The University of Texas at Austin - SRH 3.357
Kelly M Greenhill

Director, Seminar XXI Program
Senior Research Scholar and Visiting Associate Professor, CIS
Leverhulme Trust Visiting Professor, SOAS, UK
Associate Professor, Tufts University

Expertise: Foreign and defense policy, politics of information, military force, civil wars and insurgencies, migration as a weapon, and international crime as a challenge to domestic governance.
kmg2@mit.eduE40-467

CV
Personal website

Mariya Grinberg

Assistant Professor of Political Science
Member, Security Studies Program

Expertise: International relations theory, international security, political economy of security, wartime trade, order formation, sovereignty, state decline
mgrin@mit.eduE40-479

CV
Personal website

R. John Hansman

T. Wilson (1953) Professor in Aeronautics
Director, International Center for Air Transportation
Co-Director, MIT-Portugal

Expertise: International education, aerospace engineering, air transportation, aircraft systems design and innovation, instrumentation, flight safety, aviation meteorology, flight information systems, air traffic control, environmental impact of aviation
rjhans@mit.edu617-253-227133-303

CV

Anna Hardman

Senior Lecturer, Dept of Economics, Tufts University
Co-chair, Inter-University Committee on International Migration

Expertise: Urban economics, housing, international migration, development economics
anna.hardman@tufts.edu617-627-8767E40-400

CV

Doug Hart

Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Co-Director, MIT-Portugal

Expertise: International education, mechanical engineering, image processing, optical diagnostics relating to health and the environment
dphart@mit.edu617-253-21783-246

CV

Mai Hassan

Associate Professor of Political Science
Faculty Director, MIT-Africa

Expertise: International education, political science, authoritarian regimes, bureaucracy and public administration, contentious politics
mhass@mit.edu703-220-7451E53-487

CV

Eric Heginbotham

Principal Research Scientist, Center for International Studies

Expertise: Asian international relations, Japanese foreign and strategic policy, Chinese foreign and strategy policy, conventional military forces and analysis, nuclear strategy, US Asia policy
eric_h@mit.edu617-324-3397E40-459

CV

Yasheng Huang

Epoch Foundation Professor of International Management
Professor, Global Economics and Management
Faculty Director, MIT-China

Expertise: International education, finance, regulatory transparency, historical autocracy, statistical falsifications, tax, financing, sectoral and regulatory biases, history of reforms and strategy, political economy of controls
yshuang@mit.edu617-253-9768 E62-462

CV

Daniel Jackson

Professor, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science
Faculty Director, Middle East Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow (MEET)

Expertise: International education, electrical engineering and computer science, human-computer interaction, programming languages and software engineering, big data, cybersecurity
dnj@csail.mit.edu617-258-847132-G704

CV

Patrick Jaillet

Dugald C.Jackson Professor in Electrical Engineering
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Co-Director of Operations Research Center
Faculty Director, MIT-France

Expertise: International education, electrical engineering and computer science, online optimization and learning, machine learning, decision making under uncertainty, algorithms, network science and models, probability
jaillet@mit.edu617-452-337932-D624

CV

David Keith

Senior Lecturer, Sloan School of Management
Faculty Director, MIT-Australia & New Zealand

Expertise: International education, finance, consumer behavior, firm strategy, formation of markets for emerging automotive technologies, spatial patterns of technology adoption, supply constraints in production, platform competition, impact of new technologies on energy consumption and the environment
dkeith@mit.edu617-253-3436E62-432

CV

Philip Khoury

Ford International Professor of History
Vice Provost
Faculty Director, MIT-Arab World

Expertise: International education, political and social science, the Middle East, Middle Eastern studies
khoury@mit.edu617-253-088710-280

CV

Eric Klopfer

Section Head/Professor, CMS/Writing
Interim Department Head, Literature
Faculty Director, Global Teaching Labs

Expertise: International education, comparative media studies and writing, educational technology ecosystem, computer games and simulations for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, affordability of technology (AR, VR, and mobile)
klopfer@mit.edu617-253-2025NE48-328

CV

Chappell Lawson

Associate Professor of Political Science
Director, Policy Lab

Expertise: Civil-military relations, international education, Latin America (democratization, mass media, regime change, Mexican elections/politics)
clawson@mit.edu617-253-3524E53-453

CV

Evan Lieberman

Total Professor of Political Science and Contemporary Africa
Director, Center for International Studies
Faculty Director, MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI)

Expertise: Ethnic politics, climate policy, public health, state-building, democratic governance, Africa
evanlieb@mit.edu617-324-1642E40-455

CV
Personal website
Department Bio

Erik Lin-Greenberg

Leo Marx Career Development Assistant Professor of the History and Culture of Science & Technology
Member, Security Studies Program

Expertise: Emerging technology, crisis escalation, security strategy
eriklg@mit.eduE40-491

CV
Personal website

Noora Lori

Associate Professor of International Relations, Boston University
Inter-University Committee on International Migration

Expertise: International migration, comparative politics, immigration and citizenship, Middle East politics
nlori@bu.edu617-358-7338

CV

Paulo Lozano

Miguel Alemán Velasco Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Director, Space Propulsion Lab
Faculty Director, MIT-Mexico

Expertise: International education, aerospace engineering, space propulsion, electrospray thrusters, micro and nano-fabrication, space mission design, small satellite technology development, ion beams, micro-fluidics
plozano@mit.edu617-258-074237-401
Fiona Murray

William Porter (1967) Professor of Entrepreneurship
Associate Dean for Innovation and Inclusion
Faculty Director, MIT-United Kingdom
Faculty Director, Legatum Center
Co-Director, MIT Innovation Initiative

Expertise: International education, finance, international policy, investments in science and technology, deep-tech start-up ventures
fmurray@mit.edu617-258-0628E62-488

CV

Vipin Narang

Frank Stanton Professor of Nuclear Security and Political Science
Member of the Security Studies Program

 

Expertise: Nuclear proliferation, South Asian security, quantitative conflict studies, international relations theory, general security studies
narangv@mit.edu617-258-7363E40-465

CV
@NarangVipin

Thomas Neff Expertise: Nuclear weapons (post-cold war security), FSU defense conversion, energy (international industries and markets) tlneff@mit.edu978-371-8080
Richard Nielsen

Associate Professor, Political Science
Faculty Lead, MENA/MIT

 

 

Expertise: Islam, political violence, human rights, economic development, research design
rnielsen@mit.edu617-324-4823E53-455

CV
Personal website

Melissa Nobles

Chancellor
Professor, Political Science

Expertise: Comparative politics (racial and ethnic politics, nationalism, social movements, retrospective justice)
mnobles@mit.edu617-253-974210-200

Personal website

Bradley Olsen

Alexander and I. Michael Kasser (1960) Professor
Department Executive Officer, Chemical Engineering
Faculty Director, MIT-Brazil

Expertise: International education, chemical engineering, block copolymers, soft condensed matter physics, protein-based materials, bioelectronics
bdolsen@mit.edu617-715-454866-558A

CV

Christine Ortiz

Morris Cohen Professor in Materials Science and Engineering
Faculty Advisor, MIT-Israel

Expertise: International education, materials science, biotechnology and biomaterials, nanotechnology, multiscale computational modeling of materials, advanced and additive manufacturing, surface science, coatings, tribology
cortiz@mit.edu 617-452-308413-4022

CV

Scot Osterweil

Research Scientist, Comparative Media Studies/Writing
Faculty Director, Global Teaching Labs

Expertise: International education, comparative media studies and writing, game design
scot_o@mit.edu617-324-3652NE48-328
Kenneth Oye

Professor, Political Science
Professor, Data Systems and Society
Director, Program on Emerging Technologies (PoET)
Interim Director, Seminar XXI

Expertise: Emerging technologies (synthetic biology, ubiquitous computing, energy technology; economic, environmental, social and political effects), political economy, foreign policy, science and technology
oye@mit.edu617-253-3412E40-437

CV
PoET

Mihaela Papa

Director of Research, Center for International Studies
Principal Research Scientist, Center for International Studies

Expertise: International negotiations; global governance; BRICS; climate justice; sustainable development
mpapa@mit.eduE40-447
Roger Petersen

Arthur and Ruth Sloan Professor of Political Science
Member, Security Studies Program

Expertise: Civil-military relations, comparative politics, ethnic conflict, identity politics, security studies
rpeters@mit.edu617-253-6781E40-493

CV

Barry Posen

Ford International Professor of Political Science
Former Director, Security Studies Program

Expertise: Security studies (international security, grand strategy, use of force, military intervention, doctrine, organization and escalation), Middle East (US policy, Iran, Iraq), terrorism, Iran’s nuclear program, ethnic conflict, Cold War history
posen@mit.edu617-253-8088E40-463

CV

Carlo Ratti

Professor of Practice of Urban Technologies and Planning
Faculty Director, MIT-Italy

Expertise: International education, urban technologies and planning, higher education industry, architecture, design
ratti@mit.edu617-253-79269-216
Carol Saivetz

Senior Advisor, Security Studies Program

Expertise: Russia, former Soviet Union
csaivetz@mit.edu617-324-3065E40-476
Richard Samuels

Ford International Professor of Political Science
Faculty Director, MIT-Japan
Former Director, Center for International Studies (2003-2023)

Expertise: Asia (Japanese politics and leadership, Asian security, political economy, comparative politics), Japan (security, politics, public policy, political leadership, defense/aerospace, international education), Italy (political leadership and economic history), civil-military relations
samuels@mit.edu617-253-2449E40-475

CV
@dicksamuelsmit

Bishwapriya Sanyal

Ford International Professor of Urban Development and Planning
Director, Special Program in Urban and Regional Studies (SPURS)/ Humphrey Fellows Program 

Expertise: Urban studies and planning
sanyal@mit.edu617-253-32709-435A

CV
Personal website

Harvey Sapolsky

Professor, Public Policy and Organization (Emeritus)
Former Director, Security Studies Program

Expertise: Civil-military relations, military issues (innovation, defense politics, organizational theory)
sapolsky@mit.edu617-253-5265E40-481

CV

Ben Ross Schneider

Ford International Professor of Political Science
Faculty Director, MIT-Chile

Expertise: Capitalist development in Latin America (diversified business groups, foreign investment, human capital, labor markets, and commodity-led growth), new forms of state capitalism, industrial policy, state-owned enterprises
brs@mit.edu617-253-7207E53-423

CV
Personal website  

Serenella Sferza

Co-director, MISTI Italy

Expertise: European political parties, globalization (effect on long-term political change, working in the global economy), Italy, European political economy
ssferza@mit.edu617-452-2693E40-411
David Andrew Singer

Professor, Political Science
Department Head

Expertise: Political economy (international financial regulation, capital flows/policy, central banking, governance), international economics
dasinger@mit.edu617-258-9372E53-473

CV
Personal website

Pawan Sinha

Professor, Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Faculty Director, MIT-India

Expertise: International education, brain and cognitive sciences, neurological disorders, mechanism of learning, neuroplasticity, object representations in the brain
psinha@mit.edu617-253-143446-4077
Eugene Skolnikoff

Professor, Political Science (Emeritus)

Expertise: Interaction of science and technology and international politics
ebskol@mit.edu617-253-3140E53-373
Justin Steil

Assistant Professor of Law and Urban Planning
Inter-University Committee on International Migration

Expertise: International migration, housing policy, urban policy, local government law, land use law, civil rights law, residential segregation, anti-discrimination policy
steil@mit.edu617-253-20179-515

CV

Scott Swift

Robert E. Wilhelm Fellow 2018-2019

Expertise: Global security; Indo-Pacific region; military issues
shswift@mit.edu617-253-8093E40-400
Caitlin Talmadge

Associate Professor, Political Science

Expertise: Nuclear deterrence and escalation, U.S. military operations and strategy, and security issues in Asia and the Persian Gulf.
talmadge@mit.eduE40

Twitter

C. Cem Tasan

Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
Faculty Director, MIT-Netherlands

Expertise: International education, materials science, physical metallurgy, solid mechanics, in situ microscop, characterization tools and methods, micro-mechanisms in metallic materials, damage-resistant microstructures and alloys
tasan@mit.edu617-253-33188-202
Kathleen Thelen

Ford International Professor of Political Science
Faculty Director, MIT-Denmark

Expertise: Political-economic institutions
kthelen@mit.edu617-324-3651E53-435

CV
Personal website

Reed Ueda

Professor, Department of History, Tufts University
Co-chair, Inter-University Committee on International Migration

Expertise: Industrial and urban US, immigration
reed.ueda@tufts.edu617-627-2444
Lawrence Vale

Ford Professor of Urban Design & Planning

Expertise: Urban design politics
ljvale@mit.edu617-253-056110-497M

CV

Stephen Van Evera

Ford International Professor of Political Science
Member, Security Studies Program

Expertise: War (causes and prevention, with focus on the role of national misperception as a cause of war, and on organized religions as causes of war or peace), US foreign policy, US security policy, international relations theory, social science methods with focus on qualitative methods, Middle East (Arab-Israeli conflict)
vanevera@mit.edu617-253-0530E40-475

CV

Jim Walsh

Research Associate, Security Studies Program

Expertise: Nuclear weapons and WMD proliferation (Iran, North Korea, Non-proliferation Treaty, terrorism), Iran (politics, nuclear program, US policy), Iraq, Persian Gulf
j_walsh@mit.edu617-324-3712E40-479

@DrJimWalshMIT

Cindy Williams Expertise: Military issues (personnel policy, command and control, budget, the draft vs volunteer service), defense policy (defense budget, military personnel policy), security studies (U.S. defense and security budgets, U.S. and European military personnel structures, command and control) cindywil@mit.edu617-484-0817E40-400
Elizabeth Wood

Ford International Professor of History
Faculty Co-Director, MIT-Eurasia & MIT-Ukraine Programs

Expertise: Cold War history, political economy of contemporary Russia, women’s rights, globalization
elizwood@mit.edu617-253-3255E51-282

CV