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    • Entrepreneur John McQuillan invests million in new center to study the interaction between science and society
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    Entrepreneur John McQuillan invests $10 million in new center to study the interaction between science and society

    Umito Posted on

    Does democracy keep pace with science? Businessman John McQuillan is skeptical.

    That’s why McQuillan, owner of Somerville-based Triumvirate Environmental, is spending $10 million to launch a new institute in Greater Boston that would focus on the interplay between scientific and social issues. He hopes this work can be useful to state and federal policymakers on issues ranging from artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles to genetic engineering and stem cell research.

    The McQuillan Institute for Science, Technology, and the Human Future has roots at Harvard: It kicks off Friday with a symposium at Harvard’s Loeb House, and its scientific director and co-founder is Sheila Jasanoff, professor of science studies and technology at the Harvard Kennedy School. . But McQuillan and Jasanoff hope to support research at various universities around the world, although not all research will be done in a university setting. There is no physical location yet, although the institute has one full-time employee so far; McQuillan hopes to host scientific conferences and symposia related to the research he funds at locations throughout Greater Boston.

    McQuillan first met Jasanoff about 20 years ago, while taking one of her classes, and eventually decided to fund a lecture series she coordinates at Harvard.

    “Sheila and I have had discussions about doing something bigger, creating a bigger platform for scholarship, for research and for training undergraduate and graduate students, as well as for a platform to showcase this scholarship,” McQuillan said.

    Annual spending and the number of researchers participating in institute-funded projects at any given time will be decided by McQuillan, Jasanoff and a board of directors they will assemble in the coming months.

    McQuillan started Triumvirate in his 20s and grew it to become a 2,000-person company specializing in waste management and disposal for the life sciences and manufacturing industries, with a value of $1.8 billion company. Now he’s trying to start a different kind of business.

    “The bottom line of this is that science and technology are advancing at a breakneck pace, but if they’re not advancing in the service of humanity, then that’s a problem,” McQuillan said. “We need to be able to develop policy to regulate these new discoveries. … There is technology everywhere we go, and it is appearing much faster than a democracy can handle it.”

    Jon Chesto can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him @jonchesto.

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