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Board of Advisors
The Board of Advisors possess expertise in fields covering the full range of the foundation's activities and provide guidance on particular projects and larger strategic initiatives.
Luc Jaeger North America
Associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). His present research interests focus on ribonucleic acid (RNA), one of the most important biopolymers on which life is based on Earth. Jaeger's lab research combines a broad range of theoretical and experimental approaches at the interfaces of chemistry, biology, and physics with implications in areas as diverse as synthetic biology, nanobiotechnology, nanomedicine, biomaterial sciences, complex system sciences, astrobiology and evolutionary biology.
Associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). His present research interests focus on ribonucleic acid (RNA), one of the most important biopolymers on which life is based on Earth. Jaeger's lab research combines a broad range of theoretical and experimental approaches at the interfaces of chemistry, biology, and physics with implications in areas as diverse as synthetic biology, nanobiotechnology, nanomedicine, biomaterial sciences, complex system sciences, astrobiology and evolutionary biology. At a fundamental level, present topics of interest include the understanding of the logic of RNA three-dimensional assembly for RNA 3D prediction and rational design, the understanding of RNA structural evolution and more generally, the understanding of the processes leading to the emergence of complexity in biological systems. At a more applied level, Jaeger's laboratory has emerged as one of the leading laboratories in RNA nanotechnology with a particular emphasis on the development of new RNA-based strategies for potentially treating cancer and infectious diseases. A graduate of the University Louis Pasteur (ULP) in Strasbourg, Jaeger went on to earn a master's degree in chemistry and biology there and then a Ph.D. in structural biochemistry and biophysics at ULP in 1993 under the supervision of Professors Eric Westhof and François Michel. He was awarded a postdoctoral research fellowship from NASA to work with Prof. Gerald Joyce at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, and, in 1995, returned to France as a research scientist at the Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire in Strasbourg. He joined the faculty of UCSB in 2002 and was promoted to his present position in 2008. Jaeger has held an ULP-NIBH (National Institute of Bioscience and Human Technology and Information Services) grant for work in Japan and is the recipient of a UCSB Junior Faculty Research Incentive Award. His current research is supported by National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. A member of the advisory board of the Journal of Molecular Recognition, he is the author or co-author of more than fifty-five papers published in renowned international scientific journals.
Byron Johnson North America
Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences and director of the Institute for Studies of Religion (ISR) as well as director of the Program on Prosocial Behavior, both at Baylor University. He is a Senior Fellow at the Witherspoon Institute (Princeton), Senior Research Scholar at the Institute for Jewish and Community Research (San Francisco), and chief advisor for the Center for the Study of Religion and Chinese Society, Peking University (Beijing).
Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences and director of the Institute for Studies of Religion (ISR) as well as director of the Program on Prosocial Behavior, both at Baylor University. He is a Senior Fellow at the Witherspoon Institute (Princeton), Senior Research Scholar at the Institute for Jewish and Community Research (San Francisco), and chief advisor for the Center for the Study of Religion and Chinese Society, Peking University (Beijing). Before joining the faculty at Baylor University, Johnson directed research centers at Vanderbilt University and the University of Pennsylvania and taught at Princeton University. Johnson just completed a series of empirical studies for the Department of Justice on the role of religion in prosocial youth behavior and is a member of the Coordinating Council for Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (Presidential Appointment). He is recognized as a leading authority on the scientific study of religion, the efficacy of faith-based organizations, domestic violence, and criminal justice. Recent publications have examined the impact of faith-based programs on recidivism reduction and prisoner reentry and his new book, More God, Less Crime, will be released in April 2011. Johnson and ISR colleagues are partnering with the Gallup Organization on studies addressing religion and spirituality in the world.
David C. Lahti North America
Assistant Professor of Biology at Queens College, City University of New York, where he runs a Behavior & Evolution laboratory focusing on the evolution of complex traits such as learned behavior in birds and humans. Lahti received a B.S. in biology and history from Gordon College, a Ph.D. in moral philosophy and the philosophy of biology at the Whitefield Institute, Oxford, and a Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Michigan. He has been a Darwin Fellow at the University of Massachusetts and a Kirschstein NRSA Research Fellow with the U.S.
Assistant Professor of Biology at Queens College, City University of New York, where he runs a Behavior & Evolution laboratory focusing on the evolution of complex traits such as learned behavior in birds and humans. Lahti received a B.S. in biology and history from Gordon College, a Ph.D. in moral philosophy and the philosophy of biology at the Whitefield Institute, Oxford, and a Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Michigan. He has been a Darwin Fellow at the University of Massachusetts and a Kirschstein NRSA Research Fellow with the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Current research projects in Lahti's lab include the effects of relaxed natural selection; the predictability of trait evolution; the genetic and cultural divergence of vocal signals; and the correlated cultural evolution of social organization, morality, and religion.
Heinrich Liechtenstein Eurasia and Australia
Assistant professor of financial management, he specializes in entrepreneurial finance and the management of wealth. Liechtenstein holds a Ph.D. in managerial science and applied economics from The Economics School of Vienna, Austria, a M.B.A. from IESE Business School, and a B.Sc. in business economics from the University of Graz. Liechtenstein is co-author on several publications on private equity and angel investing. His ongoing research in this field focuses on operational value creation in private equity.
Assistant professor of financial management, he specializes in entrepreneurial finance and the management of wealth. Liechtenstein holds a Ph.D. in managerial science and applied economics from The Economics School of Vienna, Austria, a M.B.A. from IESE Business School, and a B.Sc. in business economics from the University of Graz. Liechtenstein is co-author on several publications on private equity and angel investing. His ongoing research in this field focuses on operational value creation in private equity. He is co-leading The Family Office Research Project, which is a cross-continental effort within the Wharton Global Family Alliance that aims to serve global families by researching and sharing best practices of globally influential family enterprises, and in establishing a framework for understanding the evolution of family offices. He lectures in the M.B.A. and Executive Programs. As a consultant, he collaborated with leading families and financial institutions and serves on the board of three family-controlled companies. Prior to his academic career, he was engaged in the family owned Liechtenstein Global Trust (LGT) dealing with ultra high-net-worth individuals. He also advised families within the Boston Consulting Group and established and sold two successful businesses.
Robert Martensen North America
Martensen directs the Office of History at the National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, MD) and is a lecturer in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School. A physician and historian by training, his publications range broadly in the history of medicine and science. Recently, he has published and spoken on translational medicine, on caring for patients near the end of life, and on professionalism. In 2008, Farrar, Straus & Giroux published his book, A Life Worth Living: A Doctor’s Reflections on Illness in a High-tech Era.
Martensen directs the Office of History at the National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, MD) and is a lecturer in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School. A physician and historian by training, his publications range broadly in the history of medicine and science. Recently, he has published and spoken on translational medicine, on caring for patients near the end of life, and on professionalism. In 2008, Farrar, Straus & Giroux published his book, A Life Worth Living: A Doctor’s Reflections on Illness in a High-tech Era. Also in 2008, his chapter on American ‘medical professionalism’ appeared in Green, et al (editors) Global Bioethics: Issues of Conscience for the 21st Century (Oxford). In 2009, he co-edited Surgical Palliative Care: A Resident’s Guide, published by the American College of Surgeons. His analysis of early modern European debates over spirituality, rationality, and the proper organization of the human body appeared as a 2004 book, The Brain Takes Shape: An Early History (Oxford). Robert serves on the advisory boards of the journal Science Translational Medicine and the Encyclopedia of Trauma. He holds degrees from Harvard (B.A.), Dartmouth (M.D.), and the University of California, San Francisco (Ph.D.), where he also did clinical training in emergency medicine.
Michael E. McCullough North America
Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Miami, where he directs the Evolution and Human Behavior Laboratory. McCullough earned his bachelor of science degree from The University of Florida in 1990 and was awarded his Ph.D. in psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1995. His scholarly work focuses on the operation and evolution of human adaptations for social life, and in that vein he has conducted research on religion, forgiveness, gratitude, and self-control.
Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Miami, where he directs the Evolution and Human Behavior Laboratory. McCullough earned his bachelor of science degree from The University of Florida in 1990 and was awarded his Ph.D. in psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1995. His scholarly work focuses on the operation and evolution of human adaptations for social life, and in that vein he has conducted research on religion, forgiveness, gratitude, and self-control. McCullough is the author of more than 100 scholarly publications and has authored or edited six books, the most recent of which is Beyond Revenge: The Evolution of the Forgiveness Instinct (2008, Jossey-Bass).
Alan Mittleman North America
Professor of modern Jewish thought and director of the Tikvah Institute for Jewish Thought at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. He holds a Ph.D. (with distinction) and an M.A. from Temple University and a B.A. (magna cum laude) from Brandeis University. Mittleman is the author of five books, most recently A Short History of Jewish Ethics (Wiley-Blackwell, 2012). He is also the editor of four books and has many published articles, reviews, and essays in scholarly journals and edited volumes.
Professor of modern Jewish thought and director of the Tikvah Institute for Jewish Thought at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. He holds a Ph.D. (with distinction) and an M.A. from Temple University and a B.A. (magna cum laude) from Brandeis University. Mittleman is the author of five books, most recently A Short History of Jewish Ethics (Wiley-Blackwell, 2012). He is also the editor of four books and has many published articles, reviews, and essays in scholarly journals and edited volumes. He is currently working on a manuscript entitled Human Nature and Jewish Thought under contract with Princeton University Press. He is the recipient of an Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Research Fellowship and a Harry Starr Fellowship in Modern Jewish History from Harvard University’s Center for Jewish Studies. Mittleman served as visiting professor in the department of religion at Princeton University (2007) and as director of a major research project initiated by The Pew Charitable Trusts, “Jews and the American Public Square” (2000-2004). He has also served on the advisory board of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
Aref Ali Nayed Eurasia and Australia
Founder and director of Kalam Research & Media (KRM), he currently lectures on Islamic theology, logic, and spirituality at the restored Uthman Pasha Madrasa in Tripoli, Libya, and supervises graduate students at the Islamic Call College there. He is senior advisor to the Cambridge Inter-Faith Programme, and a senior fellow of the Royal Aal Al-Bayt Institute in Jordan. He has recently been appointed to the board of the C-1 Global Dialogue Foundation and is co-chair of its Education Commission.
Founder and director of Kalam Research & Media (KRM), he currently lectures on Islamic theology, logic, and spirituality at the restored Uthman Pasha Madrasa in Tripoli, Libya, and supervises graduate students at the Islamic Call College there. He is senior advisor to the Cambridge Inter-Faith Programme, and a senior fellow of the Royal Aal Al-Bayt Institute in Jordan. He has recently been appointed to the board of the C-1 Global Dialogue Foundation and is co-chair of its Education Commission. He was a professor at the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (Rome), and the International Institute for Islamic Thought and Civilization (Malaysia). He also has headed an information technology company. Nayed received his B.Sc. in engineering, M.A. in the philosophy of science, and a Ph.D. in hermeneutics from the University of Guelph (Canada). He also studied at the University of Toronto and the Pontifical Gregorian University. He has been involved in various Inter-Faith initiatives since 1987, including the recent “A Common Word” process, and has authored several scholarly works including, co-authored with Jeff Mitscherling and Tanya Ditommaso, The Author’s Intention (Lexington Books, 2004) and his recent book, Operational Hermeneutics: Interpretation as the Engagement of Operational Artifacts (KRM, 2011). His forthcoming books include Catholic Engagements: A Muslim Theologian’s Journey in Muslim-Catholic Dialogue (KRM) and Future of Muslim Theology (to be published by Blackwell in parallel with Future of Jewish Theology by Stephen Kepnes and Future of Christian Theology by David F. Ford).
Victor Nee North America
Frank and Rosa Rhodes Professor of Economic Sociology, and director of the Center for the Study of Economy and Society at Cornell University. He earned his Ph.D. in sociology at Harvard University. Nee received the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in 2007, and has been a visiting fellow at the Russell Sage Foundation in New York and the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. Nee's research interests focus on studies in economic sociology, new institutionalism, and immigration.
Frank and Rosa Rhodes Professor of Economic Sociology, and director of the Center for the Study of Economy and Society at Cornell University. He earned his Ph.D. in sociology at Harvard University. Nee received the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in 2007, and has been a visiting fellow at the Russell Sage Foundation in New York and the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. Nee's research interests focus on studies in economic sociology, new institutionalism, and immigration. He contributed influential theories explaining a variety of macro-societal phenomena. He developed market transition theory, which has launched a broad research program on the interplay between market transition and stratification effects. In his recently published book Remaking the American Mainstream, co-authored with Richard Alba, he compares the late European and new immigration from Latin America and Asia to the United States and demonstrates the importance of assimilation in American society.
Edward Nelson North America
Professor of mathematics at Princeton University. He earned a Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of Chicago in 1955, and has written six books and sixty articles on mathematics. Nelson’s early work was in analysis—especially probability theory—and mathematical physics. His work in quantum field theory was recognized by the Steele Prize for seminal contribution to research awarded by the American Mathematical Society in 1995.
Professor of mathematics at Princeton University. He earned a Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of Chicago in 1955, and has written six books and sixty articles on mathematics. Nelson’s early work was in analysis—especially probability theory—and mathematical physics. His work in quantum field theory was recognized by the Steele Prize for seminal contribution to research awarded by the American Mathematical Society in 1995. He is the inventor of stochastic mechanics, a new interpretation of quantum mechanics, and of internal set theory, a new approach to nonstandard analysis. His work in recent years has centered on logic and the foundations of mathematics. Nelson is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Université Louis Pasteur (Strasbourg) in 1991. In 2000 he was an invited speaker at the Jubilee for Men and Women of Science in Vatican City.