SI 2026 Science of Science Funding
Organized by Megan MacGarvie, Paula Stephan, and Reinhilde Veugelers
Supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
July 23-24, 2026
Royal Sonesta Hotel, 40 Edwin H. Land Blvd., Cambridge, MA
Thursday, July 23
8:30 am
Coffee and Pastries
Session 1: Scientific Knowledge Stock Dynamics
9:00 am

The Life Cycle of Ideas

Philippe Aghion, Collège de France
Antonin Bergeaud, HEC Paris
Gaétan de Rassenfosse, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
Luc Paluskiewicz, Paris School of Economics
Raphaël Wargon, Paris School of Economics

Discussant:
Enrico Berkes, University of Maryland Baltimore County
9:40 am

Academic Bubbles

Michael Sockin, University of Texas at Austin
Richard Lowery, University of Texas at Austin
Matteo Tranchero, University of Pennsylvania

Discussant:
Timothy Simcoe, Boston University and NBER
10:20 am
Break
Session 2: Science Funding Process
10:40 am

The Value Added of Innovation Managers: Evidence from the National Institutes of Health

Christina Nguyen, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Discussant:
Maryann Feldman, Arizona State University and NBER
11:20 am

Top Researchers on Scientific Committees: Decision Outcomes, Peer Dynamics, and Opportunity Costs

Milan Makany, Erasmus University Rotterdam
Natalia Zinovyeva, University of Warwick

Discussant:
Maryann Feldman, Arizona State University and NBER
12:00 pm
Lunch
Session 3: Policy Shocks
1:00 pm
Panel Discussion about the future of Science and Science research
Benjamin Jones, Northwestern University and NBER
Daniel Goroff, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Kaye Husbands-Fealing, Georgia Institute of Technology
Greg Petsko, Brigham and Women's Hospital
2:00 pm
Break
2:10 pm

Building Opportunity: The Long-Term Effects of Post-WWII Federal Educational Transfers

Yujing Huang, University of California, Los Angeles
Jian Qi Tan, Hamilton College

Discussant:
Bhaven N. Sampat, Johns Hopkins University and NBER
2:50 pm

Research Value-Added in Elite Economics PhD Programs

Joshua Angrist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and NBER
Marc Diederichs, University of Passau
Glenn Ellison, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and NBER

Discussant:
Richard B. Freeman, Harvard University and NBER
3:30 pm
Break
3:50 pm

How to Silence Researchers? Evidence from Illiberal Policies in Hungary

Luc Paluskiewicz, Paris School of Economics
Raphaël Wargon, Paris School of Economics

Discussant:
Fabian Waldinger, University of Munich
4:30 pm

US Science Cuts: The Cost Through Innovation Spillovers

Antoine Mathieu Collin, KU Leuven
Dennis Verhoeven, SKEMA Business School
Reinhilde Veugelers, KU Leuven

Discussant:
Antonin Bergeaud, HEC Paris
5:10 pm
Adjourn
6:00 pm
Group Dinner at the Royal Sonesta Hotel
Friday, July 24
8:30 am
Coffee and Pastries
Session 4: From Science to Innovation
9:00 am

Harnessing Academic Science for Corporate Technology: The Role of Interpersonal Networks and Absorptive Capacity

Sam Arts, KU Leuven
Lee Fleming, University of California, Berkeley
Lena Veretennik, KU Leuven

Discussant:
Adam B. Jaffe, Brandeis University and NBER
9:40 am

The Welfare Effects of Gender-Inclusive Innovation: Evidence from Patents and Academic Publications

Matt Marx, Cornell University and NBER
Frank Mueller-Langer, European Commission
Joel Waldfogel, University of Minnesota and NBER

Discussant:
Francesca Truffa, University of Michigan
10:20 am
Break
Session 5: AI in Science
10:30 am

One Prompt, One Paper: Optimal Journal Policy and the AI Submission Flood

Alejandro Lopez-Lira, University of Florida
Sina Seyfi, Aalto University
10:40 am

The Rise of Large Language Models and the Direction and Impact of US Federal Research Funding

Yifan Qian, Northwestern University
Zhe Wen, Northwestern University
Alexander C. Furnas, Northwestern University
Yue Bai, Northwestern University
Erzhuo Shao, Northwestern University
Dashun Wang, Northwestern University
10:50 am

Artificial Intelligence in Science: Returns, Reallocation, and Reorganization

Moh Hosseinioun, Northwestern University
Brian Uzzi, Northwestern University
Henrik Barslund Fosse, Novo Nordisk Foundation
11:00 am

The AI-Enabled Scientific Frontier

Gabriel F. Manso, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Emma Fu, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Neil Thompson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
11:40 am
Panel discussion on the Impact of AI
Chair: Ajay Agrawal, University of Toronto and NBER
Keith Brown, Boston University
Aaron Clasky, University of Toronto
Diane Joseph-Mccarthy, Boston University
12:30 pm
Lunch and Adjourn