SETR_banner

About

Emerging technologies are transforming societies, economies, and geopolitics. This moment brings both promise and peril. In every era, technological advances are used in nefarious ways that inventors never imagined and slow-moving governments stymie innovations in ways that policymakers never intended. The stakes today are especially high. Great power competition between the US and China is the defining feature of the 21st century – and emerging technologies will determine who will win and what values will shape the international order.

Seizing the opportunities and mitigating the risks of science and engineering breakthroughs takes work. It requires US leadership to ensure that new technologies advance free societies rather than empowering autocracies. And it demands vigorous collaboration between academia, the private sector, and the US government to ensure that innovations uphold American values and serve American national interests.

The Stanford Emerging Tech Review is an ambitious university-wide effort that emerged from conversations with senior American government officials who asked, “What should we know about emerging tech at Stanford?” There was no single resource, no compendium of frontier technological research efforts on campus, and no systematic discussion bringing together scientists, engineers, and social scientists to assess the policy implications, opportunities, and risks of emerging technologies being invented in our own departments and laboratories that are shaping the world.

The Review aims to help fill this vital gap by producing an annual report that accounts for new developments in key technology areas at Stanford University and highlights key policy implications, needs, opportunities, and barriers for US government decision makers and private sector leaders.

TEN TECHNOLOGY FOCUS AREAS

 Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence

 Biotechnology Synthetic Bio

Biotechnology Synthetic Bio

 Cryptography Blockchain

Cryptography Blockchain

 Energy

Energy

Generation / Storage / Transmission

 Nano Material Science

Nano Material Science

 Neuroscience

Neuroscience

 Nuclear

Nuclear

 Robotics

Robotics

 Semiconductors

Semiconductors

 Space

Space

Satellites / Comms / Propulsion

CO-CHAIRS

speaker
Amy Zegart
Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution
CO-CHAIRS
Amy Zegart

Amy Zegart is the Morris Arnold and Nona Jean Cox Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and Professor of Political Science (by courtesy) at Stanford University. She is also a Senior Fellow at Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Chair of Stanford’s Artificial Intelligence and International Security Steering Committee, and a contributing writer at The Atlantic. She specializes in U.S. intelligence, emerging technologies and national security, grand strategy, and global political risk management.

View Bio
speaker
Amy Zegart

Morris Arnold and Nona Jean Cox Senior Fellow

Amy Zegart is the Morris Arnold and Nona Jean Cox Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and Professor of Political Science (by courtesy) at Stanford University. She is also a Senior Fellow at Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Chair of Stanford’s Artificial Intelligence and International Security Steering Committee, and a contributing writer at The Atlantic. She specializes in U.S. intelligence, emerging technologies and national security, grand strategy, and global political risk management.

  
READ MORE   
speaker
Condoleezza Rice
Director, Hoover Institution
CO-CHAIRS
Condoleezza Rice

Condoleezza Rice is the Tad and Dianne Taube Director of the Hoover Institution and a Senior Fellow on Public Policy. She is the Denning Professor in Global Business and the Economy at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. In addition, she is a founding partner of Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel LLC, an international strategic consulting firm.

View Bio
speaker
Condoleezza Rice

Tad and Dianne Taube Director | Thomas and Barbara Stephenson Senior Fellow on Public Policy

Condoleezza Rice is the Tad and Dianne Taube Director of the Hoover Institution and a Senior Fellow on Public Policy. She is the Denning Professor in Global Business and the Economy at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. In addition, she is a founding partner of Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel LLC, an international strategic consulting firm.

  
READ MORE   
speaker
Jennifer Widom
Dean, School of Engineering
CO-CHAIRS
Jennifer Widom

Jennifer Widom is the Frederick Emmons Terman Dean of the School of Engineering and the Fletcher Jones Professor in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at Stanford University. She served as Computer Science Department Chair from 2009-2014 and School of Engineering Senior Associate Dean from 2014-2016. Jennifer received her Bachelor's degree from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in 1982 and her Computer Science Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1987. She was a Research Staff Member at the IBM Almaden Research Center before joining the Stanford faculty in 1993. Her research interests span many aspects of nontraditional data management. She is an ACM Fellow and a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences; she received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2000, the ACM SIGMOD Edgar F. Codd Innovations Award in 2007, the ACM-W Athena Lecturer Award in 2015, and the EPFL-WISH Foundation Erna Hamburger Prize in 2018.

View Bio
speaker
Jennifer Widom

Frederick Emmons Terman Dean Of The School Of Engineering, Fletcher Jones Professor Of Computer Science And Professor Of Electrical Engineering

Jennifer Widom is the Frederick Emmons Terman Dean of the School of Engineering and the Fletcher Jones Professor in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at Stanford University. She served as Computer Science Department Chair from 2009-2014 and School of Engineering Senior Associate Dean from 2014-2016. Jennifer received her Bachelor's degree from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in 1982 and her Computer Science Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1987. She was a Research Staff Member at the IBM Almaden Research Center before joining the Stanford faculty in 1993. Her research interests span many aspects of nontraditional data management. She is an ACM Fellow and a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences; she received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2000, the ACM SIGMOD Edgar F. Codd Innovations Award in 2007, the ACM-W Athena Lecturer Award in 2015, and the EPFL-WISH Foundation Erna Hamburger Prize in 2018.

  
READ MORE   
speaker
John Taylor
Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution
CO-CHAIRS
John Taylor

John B. Taylor is the George P. Shultz Senior Fellow in Economics at the Hoover Institution and the Mary and Robert Raymond Professor of Economics at Stanford University. He chairs the Hoover Working Group on Economic Policy, co-chairs the Hoover Technology, Economics and Governance Working Group, and is director of Stanford’s Introductory Economics Center.

View Bio
speaker
John Taylor

George P. Shultz Senior Fellow in Economics

John B. Taylor is the George P. Shultz Senior Fellow in Economics at the Hoover Institution and the Mary and Robert Raymond Professor of Economics at Stanford University. He chairs the Hoover Working Group on Economic Policy, co-chairs the Hoover Technology, Economics and Governance Working Group, and is director of Stanford’s Introductory Economics Center.

  
READ MORE   

DIRECTOR / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Herbert Lin
Herbert Lin
Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution
CO-CHAIRS
Herbert Lin

Dr. Herb Lin is Hank J. Holland Fellow in Cyber Policy and Security at the Hoover Institution and senior research scholar for cyber policy and security at the Center for International Security and Cooperation, both at Stanford University.  His research interests relate broadly to policy-related dimensions of cybersecurity and cyberspace, and he is particularly interested in the use of offensive operations in cyberspace as instruments of national policy and in the security dimensions of information warfare and influence operations on national security. 

View Bio
Herbert Lin
Herbert Lin

Dr. Herb Lin is Hank J. Holland Fellow in Cyber Policy and Security at the Hoover Institution and senior research scholar for cyber policy and security at the Center for International Security and Cooperation, both at Stanford University.  His research interests relate broadly to policy-related dimensions of cybersecurity and cyberspace, and he is particularly interested in the use of offensive operations in cyberspace as instruments of national policy and in the security dimensions of information warfare and influence operations on national security. 

  
See More   

ADVISORY BOARD

Eric Schmidt
Eric Schmidt
Founding Partner - Innovation Endeavors
Advisory Board
Eric Schmidt
View Bio
Eric Schmidt

  
Hon. Jerry McNerney
Hon. Jerry McNerney
Former U.S. House of Representatives from California
Advisory Board
Hon. Jerry McNerney
View Bio
Hon. Jerry McNerney

  
Hon. Robert Gates
Hon. Robert Gates
Former Secretary of Defense
Advisory Board
Hon. Robert Gates
View Bio
Hon. Robert Gates

  
Hon. Steven Chu
Hon. Steven Chu
William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Physics, and Professor of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, and of Energy Science and Engineering at Stanford University. Former Secretary of Energy
Advisory Board
Hon. Steven Chu
View Bio
Hon. Steven Chu

  
Hon. Susan M. Gordon
Hon. Susan M. Gordon
Director at CACI International
Advisory Board
Hon. Susan M. Gordon
View Bio
Hon. Susan M. Gordon

  
John Hennessy
John Hennessy
Shriram Family Director, Knight-Hennessy Scholars
Advisory Board
John Hennessy
View Bio
John Hennessy

  
Lloyd B. Minor, MD
Lloyd B. Minor, MD
Carl and Elizabeth Naumann Professorship for the Dean of the School of Medicine, Professor of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery (OHNS) and, by courtesy, of Neurobiology and of Bioengineering
Advisory Board
Lloyd B. Minor, MD
View Bio
Lloyd B. Minor, MD

  
Mary Meeker
Mary Meeker
General Partner at BOND
Advisory Board
Mary Meeker
View Bio
Mary Meeker

  
Peter Scher
Peter Scher
Vice Chairman of JPMorgan Chase & Co
Advisory Board
Peter Scher
View Bio
Peter Scher

  
Thomas M. Siebel
Thomas M. Siebel
Founder of Siebel Systems Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at C3.ai
Advisory Board
Thomas M. Siebel
View Bio
Thomas M. Siebel

  

LEARN MORE

Stanford University is tightly coupled to the scientific and technological innovation ecosystem and has been for many years. The Stanford Emerging Technology Review (SETR) is an effort to produce a periodic report for policy and leadership audiences that accounts for new and important scientific and technical developments at Stanford University across ten technological areas and identifies barriers, needs, and opportunities for progress in each area.

STAY CONNECTED

Subscribe for news and updates in regards to the Stanford Technology Review. If you have any questions, please email us at setr-admin@stanford.edu.

News

institute

During keynote remarks at the Hoover Institution’s 2022 Tech Track II Symposium, Hoover Institution director Condoleezza Rice announced the Fall 2023 publication of The Stanford Emerging Tech Review, a new multidisciplinary collaboration in which scholars and experts from Stanford will summarize contributions of university researchers in areas of critical technology over the past year.