Marjory Blumenthal

Marjory Blumenthal is a connector of people and ideas and a leader of multi-disciplinary collaborations. In June 2021 she became a Senior Fellow and Director of the Technology and International Affairs Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, focusing for a year on a wide range of emerging and disruptive technologies and on integrating an eclectic program for a year before returning to her adjunct role at RAND and other activities. In April 2016 she became the Director of the experimental Science, Technology, and Policy Program at the RAND Corporation, subsequently holding ad hoc leadership roles and leading or participating in a wide range of research. Her work on automated vehicle safety influenced government, industry, and civil society stakeholders. Between May 2013 and April 2016 Marjory served as Executive Director of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) within the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, developing and managing PCAST’s analytical program, engaging its 20 distinguished scientists and engineers as well as hundreds of additional experts, speaking publicly about PCAST’s work, and fostering the implementation of PCAST recommendations. Marjory’s PCAST projects addressed how systems engineering can improve health care, challenges in protecting privacy in the context of big data, new directions for cybersecurity, how information technology can improve education, the implications of new technologies for cities, and more. Previously she was Associate Provost, Academic at Georgetown University, developing academic strategy, strengthening the sciences and the overall research program, and promoting innovation in areas from international engagement to teaching and learning.

Before starting at Georgetown, Marjory was the founding Executive Director of the National Academies' Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB). Building an enterprise that succeeded where four earlier efforts had failed, she convened and teamed with technologists, social scientists, and other experts, producing over 60 influential books and reports that addressed the full range of information technologies and their societal impacts. This work provided a foundation for her research, teaching, and writing on the evolution of the Internet and cybersecurity. Her final CSTB book, the only one identifying her co-authorship explicitly, was a landmark exploration of creativity at the intersections of computing and the arts that inspired an enduring community. Marjory did her undergraduate work at Brown University and her graduate work at Harvard University, both in interdisciplinary programs. She has served on numerous advisory bodies and received multiple awards over the course of her career.