Affiliation: Pratt School of Engineering
Mark Borsuk’s research concerns the development and application of mathematical models for integrating scientific information on natural, technical, and social systems. He is a widely-cited expert in Bayesian network modeling with regular application to environmental and human health regulation and decision making. He is also the originator of novel approaches to climate change assessment, combining risk analysis, game theory, and agent-based modeling. Borsuk’s highly collaborative research has been funded by NSF, EPA, NIH, NIEHS, and USFS, and he has authored or co-authored 75 peer-reviewed journal publications and 6 book chapters. Click for more info

Merritt Cahoon joined Duke as the Deep Tech Program Coordinator in 2025, supporting programs across semiconductors, AI, cybersecurity, quantum, and climate finance. Merritt recently completed her MA in Bioethics and Science Policy with a concentration in Tech Ethics and Policy at Duke, where she focused on the ethical and policy challenges of emerging technologies. While at Duke, she conducted independent research with the Center for Humane Technology on AI and the dignity of work, and collaborated on a project exploring AI deception and public trust.

Merritt also holds a BS in Computer Science and Mathematics from Samford University, where she was a Division I softball player and active student leader. She participated in two NSF-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) programs—at the University of Rochester, where she worked on augmented reality tools for deaf and hard-of-hearing children, and at the University of Texas at Arlington, where she researched robotics for people with disabilities.

Robert Calderbank is Director of the Information Initiative at Duke University, where he is Professor of Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Mathematics. He joined Duke in 2010, completed a 3 year term as Dean of Natural Sciences in August 2013, and also served as Interim Director of the Duke Initiative in Innovation and Entrepreneurship in 2012. Before joining Duke he was Professor of Electrical Engineering and Mathematics at Princeton University where he also directed the Program in Applied and Computational Mathematics. Click for more info.

Nita Farahany is one of the world’s foremost experts on the ethical, legal, and societal implications of emerging technologies and their impact on our brains.

A distinguished professor at Duke University and the founding director of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society, she has shaped global conversations on cognitive liberty and mental privacy.

Affiliation: Sanford School of Public Policy
David Hoffman is the Steed Family Professor of the Practice of Cybersecurity Policy at the Sanford School of Public Policy. He also formerly was the Associate General Counsel, Director of Security Policy and Global Privacy Officer for Intel Corporation.

Hoffman currently chairs the Civil Liberties and Privacy Panel for the Director’s Advisory Board for the US National Security Agency. He also chairs the board of the Center for Cybersecurity Policy and Law, and serves on the Advisory Boards for the Future of Privacy Forum and the Israel Tech Policy Institute. Hoffman also founded and chairs the board for the Triangle Privacy Research Hub, which highlights and fosters cybersecurity and privacy academic research done in the North Carolina Research Triangle. Click for more info

Madeline Liddicoat manages the strategy and operations of Science & Society. She works with the Director and Faculty Leadership to develop and implement the strategic plan for the Initiative. She oversees recruitment and communications. She manages the administrative staff. She handles department finances, human resources, and administration. Click for more info

Phil Napoli is the James R. Shepley Professor of Public Policy and a Faculty Affiliate with the DeWitt Wallace Center for Media & Democracy. He also serves as a Docent at the University of Helsinki. Professor Napoli’s research focuses on media institutions and media regulation and policy. He has provided formal and informal expert testimony on these topics to government bodies such as the U.S. Senate, the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Congressional Research Service. Click for more info

Kenneth S. Rogerson is Professor of the Practice at Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy, and former Research Director of the DeWitt Wallace Center for Media and Democracy at Duke University. He is currently the Director of Graduate Studies for the Sanford Master’s of Public Policy Program and the Director of Duke’s Policy Journalism and Media Studies Certificate Program. He has served as chair of the American Political Science Association’s Information Technology and Politics Section and the International Studies Association’s International Communication Section. Click for more info

Alexander Rosenberg is the R. Taylor Cole Professor of Philosophy. He has held fellowships from the National Science Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. His research interests include: the philosophy of biology; philosophy of cognitive, behavioral, & social science; philosophy of science; causation; Hume; and metaphysics. He is the author of several books and has also written approximately 180 papers in the philosophy of biology, the philosophy of cognitive, behavioral and social science (especially economics), and causation. Click for more info.

Liz Sparacino joined Duke as the Technology Policy Research and Programs Fellow in January 2025 with a focus on Platform Accountability and Digital Equity. Liz recently graduated with her MA in Bioethics and Science/Tech Policy at Duke where she became deeply interested in the intersection of ethics and policy in technology and healthcare. At Duke, Liz was a research assistant for a variety of projects in the Tech Policy Lab and interned at Takeda Pharmaceuticals in Boston, MA.

Liz also holds a BS in Biomedical Humanities, Pre-Med, from Campbell University where she was a four-year member of the varsity swim team. Outside of Duke, Liz enjoys being an avid Duke basketball fan, cooking, playing pickleball, and spending time outside with her dog, Beacon.

Aarthi Vadde works in the field of 20th-21st century Global Anglophone literature, and is broadly interested in the relationship of literary history to computational technologies and internet culture.  She is the co-editor of The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol F: The Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries and the co-founder of Novel Dialogue a podcast about how novels are made – and what to make of them. Click for more info.

Jonathan Wiener is the William R. Perkins Distinguished Professor of Law, Professor of Environmental Policy at the Nicholas School of the Environment, and Professor of Public Policy at the Sanford School of Public Policy. He is also the director of the JD-LLM Program in International and Comparative Law at Duke Law School. He has written widely on U.S., European, and international environmental law and risk regulation. Before coming to Duke, he worked on U.S. and international environmental policy at the White House Council of Economic Advisers, at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and at the US Department of Justice, serving in both the first Bush and Clinton administrations. Click for more info.

Jun’s primary research interest lies in the area of databases and data-intensive computing. One of his current passions is computational journalism, the idea of leveraging computing to help preserve and advance journalism, especially in the public interest. Click for more info