Irwin Feller

Dr. Irwin Feller is the Senior Visiting Scientist of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Professor Emeritus (Economics) and Former Director of the Institute for Policy Research and Evaluation at Pennsylvania State University.

Dr. Feller’s current research interests include the evaluation of public sector research and development programs; economics of academic research; the role of universities in technology-based economic development; and the evaluation of federal and state technology programs. He has authored Universities and State Governments: A Study in Policy Analysis (Praeger Publishers, 1986) and over 100 refereed journal articles, final research reports, and book chapters; as well as presented numerous papers to academic, professional, and policy audiences. He has been a consultant to the President’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Carnegie Commission on Science, Technology, and Government, The Ford Foundation, National Science Foundation, National Institute of Standards and Technology, European Commission, and Sweden’s Vinnova, among others.

He has served as a member of several U.S. National Research Council (NRC) panels, including International Benchmarking of U.S. Research Fields-Immunology, and the Transportation Research Board’s Research and Technology Coordinating Committee. He chaired the US NRC panel that conducted the 2007 study, A Strategy for Assessing Science. He has chaired several National Science Foundation review panels, as well as its Advisory Committee to the Assistant Director for Social, Behavioural and Economic Sciences. He also formerly chaired the AAAS Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy. He received a BBA from City College of New York and a PhD from the University of Minnesota.

---