Kaye Husbands Fealing

Kaye Husbands Fealing is a Professor at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School of Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She previously served as Dean of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts and Chair of the Carter School. Her career spans roles as Assistant Director of the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences at the National Science Foundation (NSF), and co-chair of the Subcommittee on Social and Behavioral Sciences for the National Science & Technology Council. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics (Harvard University) and a B.A. in Mathematics and Economics (University of Pennsylvania).

Her research focuses on the public value of scientific investments, diversity and inclusion in STEM, and innovation policy. She pioneered the NSF's Science of Science and Innovation Policy Program and co-authored The Science of Science Policy: A Handbook. Key interests include measuring gender equity in federal science agencies, automotive industry dynamics, and food safety research impacts.

• Recipient of the 2023 Carolyn Shaw Bell Award and 2017 Trailblazer Award
• Elected Fellow of AAAS (2017-2021), American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2021), and National Academy of Public Administration

Husbands Fealing has advised numerous committees, including the NSF’s Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering, NIH’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences, and the Council of Canadian Academies. She emphasizes institutional climate change to foster inclusivity in STEM, leveraging her expertise in economic frameworks and policy analysis.

• Grants include NSF’s Broadening Participation in Economics (2017-2018) and USDA-funded food safety research (2014)
• Co-chaired Georgia Tech’s Arts@Tech Institute Strategic Planning committee and served on the Institute for Data Engineering and Science Council

She advocates for systemic reforms to address underrepresentation in STEM, inspired by her personal journey as an African American woman in economics. Her work bridges technical research with societal impact, emphasizing equitable outcomes in innovation systems.