Strengthening the Science-Policy-Society Interface

Jan Lüdert is Head of Programs at the German Center for Research and Innovation (DWIH) New York. Jan earned a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of British Columbia (UBC). He holds Harvard Kennedy’s School Public Leadership Credential; a First-Class Honors MA in International Relations from the Australian National University; and a BA in Public Policy from Hamburg University for Economics and Politics. He previously served as Associate Professor at City University of Seattle where he was the inaugural Director of Curriculum and Instruction. He held positions as Visiting Research Scholar at the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies at City University of New York's Graduate Center as well as Research Associate with the DFG 'Dynamics of Security' project at Philipps Marburg University. He is an alumnus of Seattle's World Affairs Council Fellows and UBC Liu Institute for Global Issues Scholar programs.

Martin Waehlisch leads the Innovation Cell in the Policy and Mediation Division of the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (UN DPPA), an interdisciplinary team dedicated to exploring, piloting, and scaling new technologies, tools, and practices in conflict prevention, mediation and peacebuilding. He holds a PhD in International Law and recently published the edited volume “Rethinking Peace Mediation: Challenges of Contemporary Peacemaking Practice” (Bristol University Press 2021).

Ona Ambrozaite is the inaugural Johns Hopkins Science Diplomacy Hub Co-Director and Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Chemistry at the Krieger School of Arts & Sciences of Johns Hopkins University. Ona is the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellow with a focus on developing novel semiconducting materials with unique optoelectronic properties for quantum information science and technology applications. Ona is looking forward to promoting the role of science diplomacy as a tool for cooperation, monitoring and expertise at the service of development, innovation, and global issues.

Leocadia Díaz Romero has specialized in International Relations, Political Communication, EU Constitutional Law, Global Governance, Comparative Politics. She has been visiting professor at prestigious universities and centers within Europe and the United States-EUI (Florence), ULB (Brussels), CRIE (Siena), Max Planck (Heidelberg), Loyola U. (US), Berkeley U. (US), NYU, Columbia U. (US), etc. She has been accredited as a full professor and has participated in numerous conferences, workshops and seminars. Currently, she is conducting research at Ralph Bunche Institute (CUNY Graduate Center) within some competitive projects, and is devoted to the study of democracy, human rights, global politics, electoral campaigns and processes, and the environment.