Irwin Feller

Irwin Feller is emeritus professor of economics at The Pennsylvania State University, where he served on the faculty for 39 years, including 24 years as director of the Institute for Policy Research and Evaluation. He has published extensively on the organization and assessment of government research and technology programs, the economics of research and development, the performance of research-intensive universities, and evaluation methodology.  His current research interests include the design, governance and evaluation of national science systems,  and the role of institutions of higher education in technology-based economic development.  In the United States, he has chaired and served on numerous review and advisory committees for the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the  National Academies-National Research Council.  He is co-editor of the NRC report, A Strategy for Assessing Science (2007).  Internationally, he was a member of the expert panel that reviewed the European Commission’s Framework VI program, participated in the OECD’s review of Slovenia’s national science programs, and as a member of expert review panels in Sweden, France, Canada,  and Chile. He also has participated extensively in international conferences in Europe and Asia. He has a BBA in economics from the City University of New York and a PhD in economics from the University of Minnesota.