WASHINGTON – The Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue announced three new Senior Fellows, adding expertise in materials and chemical engineering, global food safety, and diplomacy to its rapidly expanding academic cohort.
The Institute welcomed Dr. Jan-Anders Mansson, a leading expert in next-generation composite manufacturing for sports technology, Dr. Haley Oliver, a specialist in international food safety innovation, and Cristina Farmus, a management professional building bridges between Purdue’s technology and international diplomatic communities.
“With the addition of Dr. Jan-Anders Mansson, Dr. Haley Oliver, and Cristina Farmus as Senior Fellows, the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue continues to lead the way in harnessing emerging technologies to advance freedom,” said Director Bonnie Glick. “Our three new fellows will be instrumental in ensuring that U.S. and allied leaders are well-versed in these critical technology areas to ensure we are meeting the global foreign policy challenges of today and tomorrow.”
Dr. Jan-Anders E. Mansson is a world-renowned expert in the design and manufacturing of composite systems for high-performance applications in the aerospace, automotive, and sports sectors. He is the Executive Director of the Ray Ewry Sports Engineering Center at Purdue, a collaboration between the College of Engineering and Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics with close ties to the International Olympic Community (IOC), driving industry and community partnerships to create innovative solutions to the sports technology challenges of the present and future. As a Distinguished Professor in Materials and Chemical Engineering at Purdue University, he founded the Manufacturing Design Laboratory, which focused on cost-effective, next-generation composite manufacturing., Dr. Mansson is also the founder of the composite company, EELCEE Ltd., active in the field of High-Volume Composites and Additive Manufacturing with its main operations in Korea and the United States. He is a World Fellow of the International Committee on Composite Material and a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences.
“In a time when technology, on a global level, increasingly penetrates our professional and private life, it is obvious that the merger of technology and diplomacy should be high on any societal agenda,” said Dr. Mansson. “The performance and competition drivers within the sports market provide an exceptionally dynamic implementation space for emerging technologies, which is built on synergistic interactions with other industrial branches such as aerospace, automotive, consumer electronics, and more.”
Dr. Haley Oliver brings doctorate-level research expertise on foodborne pathogens in emerging food systems, such as cellular agriculture, with an emphasis on practical and feasible control strategies. As the Director of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Safety, Dr. Oliver leverages her decade of food security field experience in low- and middle-income economies to manage USAID’s food safety research portfolio currently implemented in Senegal, Kenya, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Nigeria, and Nepal. She teaches food safety, sanitation, and related subjects at Purdue, and in 2021, was recognized by the university as a 150th Anniversary Professor of Food Science for her exceptional teaching and mentorship.
“Tech diplomacy will be central to democratically meeting future food and nutrition demands, particularly as the global population expands in the most food-insecure regions of the world,” said Dr. Oliver. “As a Senior Research Fellow, I am expanding the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue’s robust research portfolio into the agriculture sector, as the Institute recognizes food security through technology is foundational to global stability.”
Cristina Farmus is a management professional working on various initiatives spanning technology and diplomacy. At the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue, she engages in bilateral tech dialogues with allied nations, explores the future of communications through 6G mapping, and bridges the Purdue tech community with the diplomacy community. As the Chief of Staff to the Executive Vice President for Strategic Initiatives at Purdue University, she is engaged in projects critical for the university and the state of Indiana, such as semiconductor degrees and industry engagement, advanced manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, and the study of nuclear energy to meet the West Lafayette campus’ long-term energy needs.
“There has never been a better time to analyze the implications of technology on diplomacy and vice versa,” said Farmus. “Purdue’s expertise in critical areas such as semiconductors, hypersonics, 5G/6G, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity is a fundamental block in understanding how technical advancements constantly reshape national and world strategy, and how well-informed policies can enable a free, safer world, based on democratic values.”
