Stearns Broadhead

Stearns leads research programs and research integrity initiatives while maintaining an active research agenda in AI governance, technology policy, and emerging technology risks. Alongside this role at Lorner Research Center, he has held visiting research positions at the University of Lisbon (Portugal) and Vita-Salute San Raffaele University (Italy), where he conducted research on existential risks associated with advanced AI and on climate governance and technology, respectively. Before joining Lorner, he held a postdoctoral position at the University of Graz (Austria), where he worked on risk, responsibility, AI governance, and climate policy. He was also a Research Analyst at Trilateral Research (UK), contributing to EU-funded projects on the ethics and governance of AI, cybersecurity, and human-enhancement technologies. From 2022 to 2025, he served as Journal Editor of Public Governance, Administration and Finances Law Review at Ludovika University of Public Service.

Stearns received his Ph.D. from Central European University (CEU). His selected publications include the co-edited volume Risk and Responsibility in Context (Routledge, 2023); Balancing Rights while Protecting the Climate (Routledge, 2025); “Moral Dimensions of Carbon Offsetting” (Ethics, Policy & Environment, 2022); “Risk and Blameworthiness by Degree” (Journal of Value Inquiry, 2021); and “The Contemporary Cybercrime Ecosystem” (Computer Law & Security Review, 2018).