About

Michael Best is a professor with the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs and the School of Interactive Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he directs the Technologies and International Development Lab. He also is a professor of research with Georgia Institute of Technology - Shenzhen, China. He is the founding director of the United Nations University Institute on Computing and Society (UNU-CS) in Macau SAR, China.

Best’s research focuses on information and communication technologies for social, economic, political, and sustainable development. In particular, he studies mobile photos, the internet, and internet-enabled services and their design, impact, and importance in low-income countries in Africa and Asia. His research addresses engineering, public policy, hci/usability, and sustainability issues. He is also interested in the impact of information and communication technologies on the development-security nexus and in post-conflict peace and reconciliation.

Best is co-founder and editor-in-chief emeritus of the journal Information Technologies and International Development. He has served as director of Media Lab Asia in India and head of the eDevelopment group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab. He holds a PhD from MIT.