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When most people think about democracy, they think about voters, elected officials, and civic activists. Christopher Carr wants to expand that conversation to include engineers.
The George Mason University College of Engineering and Computing associate dean for outreach, student success & engagement was selected as a 2026–27 visiting fellow at the SNF Agora Institute, a Johns Hopkins University body dedicated to strengthening democracy through civic engagement and informed dialogue. Carr is one of 11 fellows chosen from across a variety of disciplines and backgrounds.
Carr said the composition of the fellowship class makes the opportunity especially meaningful for participants. “The cohort is a mix of journalists, artists, policy experts, and media producers,” he said. “I am the engineering educator in the room, which is by design and part of the point of the project.”
During the fellowship, Carr will develop a project titled, “Engineers as Democratic Architects: Expanding Access, Voice, and Responsibility in the Age of Algorithmic Media.” The work examines how engineering decisions increasingly shape public debated and in turn democracy in a world of artificial intelligence and digital media.
“The central argument is that engineers are civic actors,” Carr said. “The design choices they make in an AI-mediated world shape the democratic discourse of our time. And the fellowship gives me a year of residency at Johns Hopkins to develop this work in direct conversation with political scientists, media scholars, and democracy researchers.”
Carr hopes to help broaden the conversation about who is responsible for building the systems that influence modern society. “Engineering education belongs in this conversation,” he said. “The future of democracy and the future of technology are deeply connected.”
The selection places George Mason in a national conversation about the relationship between technology and democratic institutions. Carr said the fellowship reflects a growing recognition that engineers are not simply technical experts working behind the scenes. “It frames engineers as essential participants in democratic governance, not downstream technical implementers,” he said.
According to the institute’s website, this year’s fellows were selected for projects that explore questions related to democracy, citizenship, community, and the role of media in civic life. Fellows will engage in research, teaching, public conversations, and collaborative projects throughout the academic year. Carr will continue his work at George Mason during the fellowship, making frequent visits to the Johns Hopkins campus to meet with the other cohort members.
For Carr, it’s an opportunity to elevate engineering’s role in addressing some of society’s most pressing challenges. “The design choices engineers make matter,” he said. “They shape who has access, whose voices are heard, and how people participate in public life."