Michael Jordan Bernstein
Job description
Michael J. Bernstein is an Associate Professor (0.2 FTE) at UiT, supporting the Ocean Leadership executive master’s program. To OCLE, Michael contributes his expertise in sustainability, strategic foresight, European innovation policy, and collaborative leadership.
In addition to his duties at UiT, Michael serves as a senior scientist at AIT, the Austrian Institute of Technology, based in Vienna, where he leads the strategic foresight team at the Center for Innovation Systems and Policy. He applies descriptive and participatory social science research methods to align innovation with long-term societal interests. He currently coordinates the YouthDecide 2040 project on visions of European democracy with and for future generations (https://youthdecide2040.eu/). Additionally, he serves as a co-PI in the RE4GREEN project on environmental and climate ethics in European research and innovation (R&I)(https://re4green.eu/).
He has worked extensively on supporting researchers and policy makers to anticipate, reflect on, and respond to social and ethical challenges associated with science and technology in democracies. Previous work includes developing guidelines on emerging technologies in Europe (TechEthos); responsible research and innovation (NewHoRRIzon); developing foresight and strategic planning tools to support business innovation for social value (The Global KAITEKI Center, Arizona State University); staffing a participatory Technology Assessment (pTA) to inform U.S. Department of Energy decision-making about siting nuclear waste (ECAST); and evaluating science policy STEM education programs (SOtL). In his work at the science-policy interface, he has served as an expert advisor on the topic of Societal Readiness to the European Commission, and previously 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.