Join this fascinating discussion on Tuesday 29th July 2025 at 17:30-19:00 (BST) at University College London (UCL) and online on Zoom.
About this talk:
What does it take to study one of the world’s most influential—and enigmatic—public innovation agencies? In this PhD in Conversation, Josh Entsminger shares the story behind his doctoral research on the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), an institution that has shaped global science and technology since 1958 but remains surprisingly underexplored in its internal workings.
Drawing on his thesis Building and Managing Public High-Risk, High-Reward Agencies: Essays on DARPA, 1958–2020, Josh reflects on the challenges and revelations of researching an institution known for its radical ambition, and what this can teach us about how governments fund, structure, and sustain innovation for the public good.
Meet the panel:
- Josh Entsminger, PhD Candidate at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP)
- Rainer Kattel, Co-Director at the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP)
- Jack Stilgoe, Professor of Science and Technology Policy at UCL Dept of Science & Technology Studies Faculty of Maths & Physical Sciences (STEaPP)
About PhD in Conversations:
PhD in Conversation provides a platform for emerging researchers to share their ideas, outcomes and experience into a more accessible format. In this new initiative, graduating doctoral researchers are invited to deliver a concise, engaging talk that weaves together the essence of their thesis and the story of the journey behind it, before opening the floor to a small, curated panel of experts for an unscripted conversation and audience Q&A. The aim is to create a lively, accessible space in which cutting-edge ideas meet real-world perspectives, celebrate the speaker’s achievements, and spark cross-disciplinary dialogue on how research can drive public-purpose innovation.
