The JSF program was established in 2003 to further build capacity for science, technology, and engineering expertise within the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The 2016-2017 JSFs were selected in December 2015 and will begin their one-year assignments in Washington, DC on August 22, 2016.

“The goal of the JSF is to have senior academic researchers with technical expertise interact directly with members of the diplomatic corps and government offices to provide insight and expertise in the ways that science and engineering informs national policy and international relations,” Caldwell explains. “Rather than waiting for months for a single academic paper that may not be directly related to an emerging crisis, the Fellows are expected to work directly (and timely) with the U.S. Department of State or Agency for International Development to help facilitate and improve applications of scientific research and engineering capability.”

He continues: “Our general discussions of the [Purdue] Systems Collaboratory emphasize the range in which human activities and motivations (beliefs, cultures, polices, priorities, etc) influence the behavior and evolution of complex systems.  My time as a Jefferson Science Fellow will directly apply and extend this capability of Systems Engineering to the dynamics of national and international governments, companies, and other non-governmental organizations to address the most critical challenges of our era.”

Barrett S. Caldwell is Professor of Industrial Engineering (and Aeronautics & Astronautics) at Purdue. He has a PhD (Univ. of California, Davis, 1990) in Social Psychology, and BS degrees in Aeronautics and Astronautics and Humanities (MIT, 1985). His research team, the Group Performance Environments Research (GROUPER) Laboratory, examines and improves how people get, share, and use information well. GROUPER research highlights human factors engineering approaches to information flow, task coordination, and team performance in settings including aviation, healthcare, and spaceflight mission operations. Prof. Caldwell has advised or co-advised over 30 MS thesis students and 15 PhD students, and published over 150 scientific publications. Current GROUPER research is funded by sources including AHRQ, FAA, NASA, and VA. He is a Fellow and Past Secretary-Treasurer of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), a Purdue University Faculty Scholar, and Director of the NASA-funded Indiana Space Grant Consortium, promoting STEM education throughout Indiana.