Robert M. Friedman

Robert M. Friedman is an expert in environmental policy. He serves as a professor of practice at the School of Global Policy and Strategy, and as vice president for Policy and University Relations at the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI). Friedman directs JCVI's Policy Center, helps to facilitate JCVI’s affiliation with UC San Diego, and is also active in several projects ongoing in the Institute's Environmental Genomics Group.

Prior to joining the Venter Institute, Friedman was vice president for Research at The H. John Heinz Center for Science, Economics, and the Environment, a nonprofit policy research organization that brought together collaborators from government, industry, environmental organizations and academia. Earlier, Friedman was a senior associate at the Office of Technology Assessment, U.S. Congress (OTA). For 16 years, he advised Congressional committees on issues involving environmental and natural resources policy.

Friedman received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in Ecological Systems Analysis, concentrating in ecology, environmental engineering and systems analysis. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

GPS Spotlight

Technology assessment at the nexus of STEM and policy
Jan. 28, 2018 | GPS students and alumni learn how to assess genetic engineering at the intersection of policy and regulation