JUMA Calestous

Professor Calestous Juma was an internationally-recognized authority and leader in the application of science, technology, and innovation to sustainable development. His original work focused on analyzing the co-evolution of technological innovation and institutional change in socio-economic systems. He directed programs that advanced science, technology, and innovation policy research (especially biotechnology), provided high-level science and technology advice, and promoted the conservation of biological diversity.

He was Professor of the Practice of International Development at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) and Faculty Chair of the Edward S. Mason Fellows Program. He was also Faculty Chair of the Innovation for Economic Development Executive Program and Director of the Science, Technology, and Globalization Project. Prof. Juma directed the School’s Agricultural Innovation in Africa and Health Innovation Policy in Africa projects funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In 2014-2015, he served as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Visiting Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Prof. Juma was 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. He was named one of the most influential 100 Africans in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2016 by the New African magazine. In 2015, he was named by Scientific American as one of the world’s 100 most influential people in biotechnology.

Prof. Juma co-chaired high-level advisory panels for the United Nations and the African Union on science, technology, and innovation. He served on the boards of numerous international organizations and universities and he was a member of the board of the Pan African University of the African Union. He served on the judging panels of Rolex Award for Enterprise, the £1 million Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering and the Africa Food Prize. 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. Juma 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.

Prof. Juma had a DPhil in science and technology policy studies from the University of Sussex (UK) and he received several international awards and honorary degrees for his work on sustainable development. He was editor of the peer-reviewed International Journal of Technology and Globalization and the International Journal of Biotechnology. He was the author of The New Harvest: Agricultural Innovation in Africa (2015) and Innovation and Its Enemies: Why People Resist New Technologies (2016). His forthcoming books include Emergent Africa: Evolution of Regional Economic Integration (with Francis Mangeni) and How Economies Succeed: Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship.