“Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity, and is the torch which illuminates the world.” –Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur’s quote distills a core aim of the U.S. Department of State Jefferson Science Fellowship (JSF), a program Environmental Design Professor Kevin J. Krizek has participated in from 2021 to 2022. The JSF recruits tenured academics to serve as “force multipliers” for science and engineering-oriented thinking–to strengthen perspectives in U.S. diplomacy. Professor Krizek has supported the science of how the next generation of global infrastructure, fueled by rapid technological innovation and clean energy reform, could quickly spread to communities around the world, allowing people to obtain the goods and services needed in a sustainable manner.
While living in Washington, D.C., for the past year, Professor Krizek has served as a senior advisor in the Office of the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment. This gave him the opportunity to support U.S. diplomacy in international workshops, learn from Washington-based foundations, be exposed to lobbying efforts and engage in political discussions at some of the highest levels of U.S. government. 
As an extension of his appointment with the State Department, Professor Krizek will assist in the formulation of the inaugural Office of Subnational Diplomacy, an office created in part to propel the quick change that is possible, which runs through smaller-scale, community-based operations. As cities worldwide increase their capacity to effectively respond to multiple crises occurring in urban environments, the efforts that Professor Krizek is contributing to will strengthen ties between the State Department with mayors, governors and other local officials in the U.S. and around the world.
A central goal of the JSF is to sustain a contained partnership between the State Department and universities. Professor Krizek will bring back knowledge of international diplomacy and global infrastructure initiatives to share with the University of Colorado Boulder and the Program in Environmental Design, through classroom teaching, student advising and speaking engagements.
Professor Krizek will support programming for the inaugural Cities Summit of the Americas, which will be held in Denver in the spring of 2023.