Bloustein School Hosts Alumni Event in Seattle at Microsoft

July 25, 2022
Bloustein School Interim Dean Stuart Shapiro discussed the school’s new Informatics program and the importance of data in policymaking.

Earlier this summer, Bloustein School Interim Dean Stuart Shapiro and Associate Professor of Practice Jim Samuel visited Rutgers alumni in Seattle. Hosted by Microsoft in Redmond, WA, the two discussed the importance of data in policymaking and the usefulness of the Bloustein School’s newest offering, the Master of Public Informatics program.

The June 9 visit was facilitated by Simon Liepold, MPAP ’05, Director & Deputy Chief of Staff at Microsoft, who presented the highlights of Microsoft’s strategic initiatives and technological advancements. He also facilitated a guided tour of Microsoft’s Cybercrime Center.

Lucas A. Meyer, Principal Data Scientist at the Microsoft AI for Good Research Lab, presented projects from Microsoft’s AI for Good Research Lab, which revealed significant insights into ways in which Artificial Intelligence can be used for improving the quality of human life and for social good.

Bloustein alumnus Simon Liepold, MPAP ’05, presented the highlights of Microsoft’s strategic initiatives and technological advancements as well as a tour of Microsoft’s Cybercrime Center.

Professor Samuel, Executive Director of the Master of Public Informatics Program, presented a discussion of “2050: Will Artificial Intelligence Dominate Humans?” The presentation slides may be found at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4155700

The Bloustein School co-hosted the event with the Rutgers University Alumni Association. On June 8, RUAA also sponsored a Master Coffee Tasting and Coffee Cocktails event at the historic Starbucks Reserve, which was facilitated by Joquoya Murphy, Assistant Director, Regional Engagement – Western U.S., Rutgers University.

More than 3,000 Rutgers alumni live in Washington state. 

Recent Posts

Mi Shih Recognized with GPEIG Best Journal Article Award

Mi Shih, Ph.D., Associate Professor and director of the Urban Planning and Policy Development Program, was recognized with the Global Planning Educators’ Interest Group’s (GPEIG) 2025 award for the best journal article. The award honors outstanding, peer-reviewed...

Building Capacity to Support New Jersey Autism Professionals

Building Capacity to Support New Jersey Autism Professionals: A Workforce Study and Multi-state Comparative Landscape of Policies and Practices Daniel Rosario, Josephine O’Grady, Lily McFarland, Peter Walter, Ryne Kremer, Sean Nguyen, and Wun-cian Lin for Autism New...

Dr. Rushing Talks About AI for Sickle Cell and Beyond

Dr. Melinda Rushing recently appeared on the podcast Zora Talks. In this podcast, Dr. Rushing breaks down what sickle cell really is, why it disproportionately affects people of color, and how her team is developing a new approach called Clinically Guided AI to...

NJSPL: Increasing Enrollment of Paid Family Leave

The Increasing Enrollment of Paid Family Leave for Parents in the U.S. Over the past 10 years, many U.S. states have implemented mandatory paid family leave policies to help address the lack of such policy on the national level. In this post, we examine how paid...