Alondra Nelson, Harold F Linder Professor of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study
Doha, Qatar: Northwestern University in Qatar will welcome Alondra Nelson, Harold F Linder Professor of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study, for the spring 2026 edition of the Dean’s Global Forum, taking place on January 13, 2026, at the Events Hall on campus.
In a community conversation with Dean and CEO Marwan M Kraidy, Nelson will join a conversation titled, “AI: Purpose, Governance, and Public Benefit,” examining how artificial intelligence is shaped by—and, in turn, shapes—the social and political life of science and technology. Drawing on her academic research and public service, the discussion will focus on how AI is designed, governed, and used, and how questions of public benefit inform its role in contemporary 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,” said dean and CEO of Northwestern Qatar, Marwan M. Kraidy.
“Alondra Nelson brings rare depth and breadth as a distinguished scholar, a noted leader, and a public servant who has worked at the highest levels of science and technology policy. Professor Nelson’s work speaks directly to questions central to our community: the ethics and politics of knowledge production and the imperative to keep innovation, including in AI, focused on human thriving and dignity.”
Nelson is a longtime leading scholar of race, science, and technology and a major academic and policy voice on AI, with an extensive academic and leadership background. As the Harold F Linder Professor of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study, she founded and leads the Science, Technology, and Social Values Lab. Her research examines the social and political life of science and technology in society.
Previously, Nelson served as president of the Social Science Research Council and as professor of sociology at Columbia University, where she established the Division of Social Science and served as its first dean.
Beyond her academic work, Nelson has held senior roles in public service. Between 2021 and 2023, she was Deputy Assistant to the President and acting director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. In these roles, she led the development of landmark federal scientific integrity policies, advanced public-access initiatives for federally funded research, guided US science and technology infrastructure strategy, and helped shape national approaches to responsible AI governance, including 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 also named to Nature’s annual global “Ten People Who Shaped Science” list and to the inaugural TIME100 list of the most influential people in AI, and served as a presidentially appointed member of the US National Science Board.
Nelson joins a distinguished lineup of speakers featured through the Dean’s Global Forum at Northwestern Qatar, which is a public lecture and conversation series that brings eminent leaders from academia, media, the arts, and public affairs to campus. In dialogue with Dean Kraidy, speakers engage with enduring questions and pressing global issues while reflecting on their professional journeys and lived experiences.
