Michael J. Bernstein

Biography

Michael J. Bernstein is a scientist at the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology and Assistant Research Professor at Arizona State University. He applies descriptive and participatory social science research methods to align research and innovation with long-term societal interests, like sustainability. Michael currently focuses on ethical assessment of new and emerging technologies for the EC-funded TechEthos project. In addition, he is developing foresight and strategic planning tools to support business innovation for social value (The Global KAITEKI Center, Arizona State University).

From 2017-2019 he served as a work-package leader of an EC-funded project to assess and advance responsible research and innovation across European R&I funding (NewHoRRIzon). He has supported transdisciplinary urban sustainability (GLOCULL); staffed a participatory Technology Assessment (pTA) to inform U.S. Department of Energy decision-making about siting nuclear waste (ECAST); and evaluated science policy STEM education programs (SOtL). Michael has experience collaborating with formal and informal science and engineering educators, researchers, policy makers, businesses, and civil society organizations at local, national, and international levels. He has contributed to policy and evaluation initiatives on climate preparedness, resilience, and adaptation for the U.S. White House Council on Environmental Quality and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.