The Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford University is pleased to announce that four new members have joined its board of directors.
The new members possess a wide array of expertise and have established records of stellar achievement. They also share a deep understanding of the Center’s mission of cross-disciplinary collaboration in service of incubating and advancing human-centered knowledge.
The four began three-year, renewable terms on September 1, 2018.
John Dabiri is a professor of civil & environmental engineering as well as mechanical engineering at Stanford University. His research focuses on science and technology at the intersection of fluid mechanics, energy and environment, and biology. Honors for this work include a MacArthur Fellowship, an Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award, and a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). Popular Science magazine named Dabiri one of its “Brilliant 10” scientists for his research in bio-inspired propulsion. For his research in bio-inspired wind energy, Bloomberg Businessweek magazine listed Dabiri among its Technology Innovators, and MIT Technology Review magazine named him one of its 35 innovators under 35. In 2014, he was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society.
Dave Hitz is co-founder of NetApp, a Silicon Valley data management company. His book, How to Castrate a Bull, chronicles NetApp’s journey from startup to global Fortune 500 company. His charitable interests range from Mayan archeology to 3D scanning of museum collections and ancient sites to global sustainability efforts. As chairman of Deep Springs College, Hitz helped guide the transition to co-education after 100 years of all-male enrollment. He also co-founded Play On!, which translates all of Shakespeare's plays into performable 21st century English. It has been called the single largest literary translation project since the King James Bible.
Chien Lee is Chairman of the Bei Shan Tang Foundation. A native of Hong Kong, Lee, spends most of his time working with not-for-profit organizations, particularly in the education sector. Aside from chairing his family’s foundation, Lee is Vice Chairman of the Council of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Chairman of the CUHK Medical Center, Supervisor of St. Paul's Co-educational College in Hong Kong and Trustee of Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts. He is also a non-executive director of Hysan Development Company Limited and Swire Pacific Limited. Stanford is Lee’s alma mater and he has served it in many capacities, including on the Board of Trustees, the Board of the Stanford Alumni Association, the Advisory Councils of the Freeman Spogli Institute of International Studies, the Graduate School of Business, the Graduate School of Education, and the School of Engineering. He is currently on the Board of Stanford Health Care.
Paul Ricci was chairman and CEO of Nuance Communications until his retirement in 2018. While at Nuance, Ricci transformed the company from a small imaging software publisher into a $2 billion leading provider of conversational speech and AI solutions, with 14,000 employees worldwide. During his tenure, the company successfully developed a pioneering healthcare technology business, became the leading global provider of customer self-service solutions, and built one of the world’s largest independent automotive software businesses. Prior to joining Nuance in 2000, Ricci spent more than a decade at Xerox Corporation, where he served as a division president. He began his career at Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center. Ricci also has been a co-sponsor of the Center’s summer institute on “Organizations and Their Effectiveness.”
“Each of our four new board members has already demonstrated their appreciation of the Center and its importance in bringing to bear the best of social science on significant societal challenges,” said CASBS director Margaret Levi. “I am thrilled that John, David, Chien, and Paul have agreed to join the board. They bring a range of perspectives and experiences we deeply need as we move into the next exciting phase in the storied history of the Center.”
As the Center welcomes its new members, it also acknowledges the unwavering efforts of outgoing members Paul Brest (nine years of service; CASBS fellow 1983-84), Jennifer Eberhardt (four years; CASBS fellow 2005-06), Josiah Ober (four years; CASBS fellow 2004-05), and William Pade (nine years). Brest and Ober remain affiliated with the Center as 2018-19 faculty fellows.
“We are ever grateful to Bill, Jennifer, Josh, and Paul for their wisdom, creative insights, and dedication to CASBS,” said CASBS board chair Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar. Their deep engagement with the Center over many years has been enormously helpful in advancing our mission of understanding human beliefs, behaviors, interactions, and institutions.”
In addition, the Center welcomes Stanford’s new Vice Provost and Dean of Research, Kathryn Moler, as an ex officio member of the board. She replaces Ann Arvin in both capacities. Arvin had served as an ex officio board member since CASBS merged with Stanford University in 2008. CASBS is among 18 laboratories, centers, and institutes at Stanford that operate under the aegis of the Dean of Research offices.
“We are sad to lose former Dean of Research Ann Arvin as an ex officio board member; she helped us through our merger with Stanford and has been a stalwart supporter of CASBS in the decade since,” said Levi. “But we are delighted to be joined by the new Dean of Research Kathyrn (Kam) Moler, a talented physicist with a strong commitment to helping the Center as it increasingly becomes a central part of the university.”
View the Center's full list of board members
Related article: Ann Arvin wins 2018 Kenneth M. Cuthberson Award for Exceptional Service to Stanford University (Stanford News)
