The Meg & Sam Flax Lecture Series invites top scholars, policymakers, and practitioners to speak to a wide audience of Georgia Tech students and faculty on issues of urgent importance in public policy. Our goal is not just a better understanding of current issues, but to get diverse perspectives on the proper role(s) of government in solving crucial problems. Because they practice at the cutting edge of their fields, or on the front lines of government policy, the Flax Lecturers speak not from philosophy or theory, but from facts, data, and experience. Topics range from science & technology policy to energy and the environment, from pandemic threats to sustainable development, from artificial intelligence and cyber-security to monetary policy, and even outer space. All Flax lectures are free of charge. Members of the broader Georgia Tech and Atlanta community are welcome to attend. Started in the Fall of 2019, the series is still ongoing.
Previous Events
Vaccines and Immunizations in a Time of "Global Boiling" and "Anti-Science" (Jan. 28, 2025)
- Speaker: Dr. Peter J. Hotez, Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine
Why Georgia is the Most Pivotal Battleground State This Decade (Sept. 14, 2023)
- Speaker: Greg Bluestein
Governing Disease Amidst Plagues in the Nation (Sept. 1, 2022)
- Speaker: Polly Price
Superhero Movies and the State: Understanding the "Marvel"ous Government-Entertainment Complex (April 12, 2022)
- Speaker: Tricia Jenkins
- Watch recording
Research to Action: Three Climate Solutions for Georgia (Nov. 18, 2021)
- Georgia Tech Student Speakers: Valentina Sanmiguel, Vincent Gu, and Oliver Chapman
- Business Discussants: Ken Duvall, Sterling Energy, LLC; James Marlow, Velo Solar; and Ronny Just, Georgia Power
- View related published papers
How to Save the World: Understanding Non-Profits and How Tech Students Can Help (April 22, 2021)
- Speaker: Michelle Nunn
- Watch recording
Community-Based Design Practices for Health Equity (April 1, 2021)
- Speaker: Prof. Christina Harrington
- Watch recording
Public Health and Racial Inequality: The Links Between Covid-19 and the Summer BLM Protests (Sept. 24, 2020)
- Speakers: Greg Millett and Jeff Crowley
A Masterclass on Solving Public Problems and Policy Engineering & Technology and the Future of Work: How AI and Big Data are Changing the Job Market (March 6, 2020)
- Speaker: Beth Simone Noveck
How Can Scientists & Engineers Influence Public Policy?: Lessons Learned from the Field (Feb. 21, 2020)
- Speaker: Prof. Richard Barke
Iran-US Cyberattack: What is the Risk? (Jan. 27, 2020)
- ​Speakers: Prof. Milton Muller, Prof. Hans. Klein, and Prof. Mark Zachary Taylor