Roberta Berry

Associate Professor & Director - GT Honors Program

Member Of:
  • School of Public Policy
  • ADVANCE IAC
Office Location:
Armstrong 005

Overview

Roberta M. Berry is Associate Professor of Public Policy at Georgia Tech and is jointly appointed as Professor of Science and Technology Law, Policy, and Ethics at Georgia State University College of Law (currently on leave). Her research focuses on bioethics, health law and policy, and the legal, ethical, and policy implications of bioscience and biotechnology research and innovation. A secondary research focus is pedagogical approaches to cultivating complex problem solving skills. She has taught undergraduate and graduate courses that span these research areas, including graduate courses that enroll Georgia Tech graduate students and Georgia State law students. Dr. Berry is currently serving as the Director of the Georgia Tech Honors Program. 

Dr. Berry's publications include two books, The Ethics of Genetic Engineering and A Health Law Reader: An Interdisciplinary Approach. She has authored a number of articles and book chapters, including the award-winning, co-authored article "The Absent Professor: Why We Don’t Teach Research Ethics and What to Do about It" (Johnson Institute for Responsible Leadership) and "The Human Genome Project and the End of Insurance" (reprinted in National Insurance Law Review, A Compilation of Significant Articles on Insurance)

Dr. Berry was principal investigator for a National Science Foundation grant focusing on ethically contentious issues in bioscience and biotechnology and multidisciplinary, active-learning pedagogy to cultivate the capacity of future professionals to address these issues. She is a member of the editorial board of HealthCare Ethics Committee Forum and has served on National Science Foundation Advisory Panels and Site Visit Teams. She has also served as an external reviewer for Cambridge University Press, Aspen Publishers (legal), the National Science Foundation, the Wellcome Trust (U.K.), and several journals.

Her recognitions include: Class of 1940 W. Howard Ector Outstanding Teacher Award (Georgia Tech 2005); Ivan Allen Jr. Faculty Legacy Award (Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts 2004); and Outstanding Faculty Member (Student Government Association 2001).

Education:
  • M.A., Ph.D., University of Notre Dame, History and Philosophy of Science
  • J.D., University of Wisconsin
  • B.A., Swarthmore College, History
Awards and
Distinctions:
  • Outstanding Faculty Member (Student Government Association 2001)
  • Ivan Allen Jr. Faculty Legacy Award (Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts 2004)
  • Class of 1940 W. Howard Ector Outstanding Teacher Award (Georgia Tech 2005)
  • Honorable Mention: 2005 Johnson Award for Best Paper in Ethics and Accountability in the Public Sector.

Interests

Research Fields:
  • Ethics and Philosophy of Science and Technology
  • Policy Process, Leadership, and Pre-Law

Courses

  • PHIL-3127: Sci, Tech & Human Values
  • PST-3127: Sci,Tech & Human Values
  • PUBP-3000: US Constitutional Issues
  • PUBP-4843: Special Topics
  • PUBP-8823: Special Topics