Trillion Dollar Questions
Big topics. Honest discussions. Expert solutions.
At Heinz College, we think big — big data, big innovation, big impact. We strive to effect change at the highest levels. This means tackling some big issues.
We like to call the world’s biggest problems Trillion Dollar Questions. Not because they are solely questions with massive economic impacts, but because solving them would produce enormous value. Solving them would change the world.
Trillion Dollar Questions exist across many areas of research and policy. By nature, they are interdisciplinary problems. They require diverse viewpoints, novel approaches and an understanding of how we got here. The intersection of those three elements is where Heinz College excels.
In this ongoing series, Heinz College experts convene solutions-oriented conversations with colleagues from across academia, government and media to address the Trillion Dollar Questions that will shape the next century.
As part of CMU's Deeper Conversations series, this virtual panel explores the complexities of immigration, including its impact on the economy and communities and its significance in the upcoming election. The panel features professors Brian Kovak, Filiz Garip and Sabi Ardalan and is moderated by journalist Hamed Aleaziz from The New York Times.
Date: Tuesday, October 1, 2024
Time: 12:30-1:30 p.m. ET
Much has been made of the threats associated with emerging generative AI technologies. The range of anxieties includes job loss, biased decision-making and even physical harm to human beings. A more bullish view, that these new technologies will unleash productivity on a scale similar to the telephone or the automobile, has also emerged. But which view is right? Join our esteemed speakers from Carnegie Mellon, Georgia Tech and Stanford to debate and discuss the AI Revolution and its implications for our society.
Date: Monday, November 20, 2023
Time: 12:30pm - 1:30pm ET
Christopher Mims, Moderator
Technology Columnist
The Wall Street Journal
Erik Brynjolfsson
Director, Stanford Digital Economy Lab; Jerry Yang and Akiko Yamazaki Professor, and Senior Fellow, Stanford HAI
Stanford University
Kaye Husbands Fealing
Dean of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts
Georgia Tech
Ramayya Krishnan
Dean, Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy
Carnegie Mellon University
Rising tensions between the U.S. and China are disrupting long standing policies, practices and supply chains. Can the world's two largest economies find a better way to manage these tensions? An expert panel will assess the economic and security issues, new evidence from recent research and the possibility of alternative policy approaches.
Date: Monday, April 17, 2023
Daniel Flatley, Moderator
National Security Reporter
Bloomberg
Panle Jia Barwick
The Todd E. and Elizabeth H. Warnock Distinguished Chair Professor
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Lee Branstetter
Professor of Economics and Public Policy
Carnegie Mellon University
Jason Matheny
President and Chief Executive Officer
RAND Corporation
Shang-Jin Wei
N.T. Wang Professor of Chinese Business and Economy
Columbia University
Is massive policy change needed or can the academy innovate from within?
Date: Friday, November 18, 2022
Danielle Douglas-Gabriel, Moderator
National higher education reporter covering the economics of higher education
Washington Post
Ara Austin
Clinical Assistant Professor - Senior Director of Online Engagement and Strategic Initiatives
Arizona State University
Bryan Caplan
Professor of Economics
George Mason University
Michael Smith
Professor of Information Technology and Marketing
Carnegie Mellon University
Will the Euro-Atlantic alliance persevere or will Putin succeed in fracturing it?
Wednesday, May 4, 2023
Michele Kelemen, Moderator
Correspondent, Diplomacy, Foreign Desk
National Public Radio
James Goldgeier
Professor of International Relations; Former Dean
School of International Service
American University
Amb. Sarah Mendelson
Distinguished Service Professor of Public Policy
Head of Heinz College in Washington, DC
Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy Carnegie Mellon University
Brian Taylor
Professor of Political Science
Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
Syracuse University
The political debate surrounding the dual, multi-trillion dollar infrastructure bills working their way through Congress mainly focuses on costs and spending levels. Lost in that debate is the actual potential impact of these legislative packages, particularly on the areas of energy infrastructure and resilience. Just as the New Deal reshaped the social compact of the United States for the last century, the energy policy decisions made in the coming months will reverberate in American society for decades or more.
As the climate crisis tests our ability to keep the lights on—whether in the face of hurricanes, wildfires or deep freezes—solutions are needed urgently that will make our energy systems cleaner, more reliable, more secure and future-proof. We have to get this right.
This panel, moderated by Jennifer Hiller from the Wall Street Journal, will bring together top experts in energy and environmental policy to provide their insight on the substance of the proposed infrastructure packages and discuss the solutions and proposals they want to see come to the floor.
Keeping The Lights On Is Harder Than You Think: President Biden’s Energy Policy
The challenges facing our energy infrastructure, and the policies that could reshape the grid
Tuesday, November 9, 2022
Jennifer Hiller, Moderator
Energy Reporter
The Wall Street Journal
Lori Bennear
Juli Plant Grainger Associate Professor of Energy Economics and Policy
Nicholas School of the Environment
Duke University
John Graham
Professor of Risk Analysis; Former Dean
Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs
Indiana University
Akshaya Jha
Assistant Professor of Economics and Public Policy
Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy
Carnegie Mellon University
Dysfunction in the U.S. health care system affects much more than just doctors and hospitals. Nearly one out of every five dollars spent in the U.S. goes to healthcare, and yet key metrics of quality lag behind other countries.
The problems in American health care are interconnected and not solely about money and politics. And they are high stakes problems, ranging from racial disparities and anti-competitive behavior to gaps in insurance coverage and billions of dollars in wasteful spending. These issues are detrimental for patients and for the country as a whole.
This panel, moderated by Margot Sanger-Katz from the New York Times, brought some of the nation's top health policy experts together to discuss achievable solutions.
Mission Impossible? How to Fix U.S. Healthcare
Can U.S. healthcare be saved, or is the patient beyond all hope?
Thursday, July 15, 2022
Margot Sanger-Katz, Moderator
Healthcare Correspondent, The Upshot
The New York Times
Katherine Baicker
Dean and Emmett Dedmon Professor
Harris School of Public Policy
University of Chicago
Zack Cooper
Associate Professor, Institution for Social and Policy Studies
Yale School of Public Health
Yale University
Martin Gaynor
E.J. Barone University Professor of Economics and Public Policy
Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy
Carnegie Mellon University
Shelley White-Means
Professor and Executive Director of Consortium for Health Education
Economic Empowerment and Research (CHEER)
University of Tennessee Health Science Center