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Humanitarians in Crisis: Lessons from the Battle for Mosul, Iraq

The Battle of Mosul was one of the largest urban sieges since World War II. From October 2016 and July 2017, Iraqi and Kurdish forces fought to retake Iraq’s second largest city, which had fallen to ISIL in 2014. They were backed by U.S.-led coalition forces. More than 940,000 civilians fled during the siege, and thousands were injured as they sought safety.


Paul H. Wise, MD, MPH

Professor of Pediatrics, Director, Center for Policy, Outcomes, and Prevention, and Richard E. Behrman Professor of Child Health and Society, Stanford University

Paul H Wise, Richard E. Behrman Professor of Child Health and Society, Professor of Pediatrics, and Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, was part of a small team tasked to evaluate the health response to the fighting in Mosul.  Their report has raised serious questions regarding the continued utility of traditional humanitarian health responses to violent conflict.  This presentation will convey the findings of the report and the profound challenges the lessons of Mosul have generated for physicians, humanitarians, and war-fighters around the world.


RSVP is now closed.

LK130 Conference Room

Li Ka Shing Center

291 Campus Drive

Stanford, CA 94305

Seminars
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The Taiwan Relations Act, along with the three U.S.-China joint communiques, remains the foundation for U.S. policy toward, and engagement with, Taiwan.  Through this framework, the United States and Taiwan have built a comprehensive, durable, and mutually beneficial partnership, grounded in shared interests and values.  Ambassador Moriarty, Chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan, will review the current state of this unique, “unofficial” relationship in the security, economic, and people-to-people realms.  He will discuss the U.S. government’s support for Taiwan’s efforts to participate in and contribute to the international community.  At this time of increased tensions between the PRC and Taiwan, Ambassador Moriarty will underscore the United States’ longstanding interest in peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, opposition to unilateral attempts to change the status quo, and insistence on the peaceful resolution of differences.


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Moriarty
Ambassador (ret) James F. Moriarty assumed his position as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) in October 2016. AIT is a non-profit, private corporation established pursuant to the Taiwan Relations Act to manage the U.S. unofficial relationship with Taiwan. The AIT Chairman participates in policy-level discussions on Taiwan. He represents the Administration in periodic visits to Taiwan and in meetings with Taiwan representatives in the United States.

Ambassador Moriarty served as Special Assistant to the President of the United States and Senior Director for Asia at the National Security Council (2002-2004). In that role, he advised the President and coordinated U.S. policy on East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Pacific, and South Asia. Moriarty served previously as Director for China Affairs at the National Security Council (2001-2002). He led the political sections at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing (1998-2001) and the American Institute in Taiwan (1995-1998). In Beijing, he helped negotiate agreements that put to rest tensions resulting from the U.S. bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade and the collision of a Chinese fighter jet with a U.S. EP3. In Taipei, he helped create the template for the United States to work with a democratically-elected Taiwan administration. Moriarty was U.S. ambassador to Bangladesh (2008-2011) and Nepal (2004-2007).

Since retiring from the Foreign Service in 2011, Ambassador Moriarty has worked in the private sector and as an independent consultant. He has spoken on U.S.-Asia relations, including at universities, in public fora, and before U.S. Congressional committees. Living in Jakarta in 2013-2014, Ambassador Moriarty set up PROGRESS, a U.S. Government project to build capacity in ASEAN’s political/security and social/cultural communities. Since 2016, Ambassador Moriarty has been the Country Director for the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, a coalition of North American importers of ready-made garments. As Country Director, Moriarty provides oversight and strategic guidance to a $50-million initiative that is building a sustainable culture of worker safety in Bangladesh.

 

James F. Moriarty <i>Chairman, American Institute in Taiwan</i>
Seminars
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The major objectives of this paper are: 1) to investigate how local nutritional availability in early childhood and in adolescence affected health and human capital development; 2) to explore if improved nutrition in adolescence could mitigate the negative effects of early-life exposure to negative health shocks generated by the Korean War; and 3) to understand how increased nutritional supply contributed to the improvement in health in South Korea from 1946 to 1977.

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chulhee lee photo4x6
Chulhee Lee is professor of economics at Seoul National University. After receiving his doctoral degree from University of Chicago in 1996, he taught at SUNY Binghamton before he returned to Seoul in 1998. His major research topics are economic status and labor-market behaviors of older persons; and interactions of ecological environment, socioeconomic status, and health over the life course. Lee has been involved with the management of the NIH-funded Early Indicators project since 2001 as project leader and senior investigator, which constructed and analyzed longitudinal data on Union Army soldiers. He has also participated in various projects of creating and studying new data in Korea, such as the Korea Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLOSA), the panel data on the Korean Health Insurance, and the sample of military records in Korea. Lee’s research on the health and retirement of US Civil War soldiers has been published in American Economic Review (1998), Journal of Economic History (1998, 2002, 2005, 2008), Explorations in Economic History (1997, 1998, 2007, 2012), and Social Science History (1999, 2005, 2009, 2015). He has also published paper on retirement of Koreans in Economic Development and Cultural Change (2007) and Journal of Population Ageing (2013). His recent work on the effects of in-utero exposure to the Korean War, recessions, and the 1980 Kwangju uprising appeared in Journal of Health Economics (2014), Social Science and Medicine (2014), Health Economics (2017), and Asian Population Studies (2017).

Chulhee Lee Department of Economics, Seoul National University
Seminars
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The format of this presentation is each of the three speakers will have approximately 15 minutes to present their research.  This will be followed by a short period of 5-10 minutes for any questions or comments from the audience.

In this session of the Corporate Affiliates Research Presentations, the following will be presented:

 

Hong Cao, PetroChina, "The Role of Large Enterprises in China's Innovation Economy"

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China's economy has made tremendous achievements in the past 20 years, and the number of patent applications has also ranked first since 2011.  China is now trying to change its economic growth mode from investment-led infrastructure construction and manufacturing to an innovation-driven one.  It is widely accepted that large enterprises should be main actors in this process of economic transformation.  However, can Chinese large enterprises take on such responsibilities?  In his research, Cao shows there is still a big gap between Chinese and international innovative enterprises both in innovation quality and transformation, and state-owned enterprises still have the problem of insufficient innovation capacity.  In this presentation, Cao argues that increasing the R&D investment to double the current level, establishing innovation accelerators, and implementing institutional reforms are the top priorities for creating an innovative China.

 

Kazumasa Ito, Mitsubishi Electric, "How Can Mitsubishi Electric Play a Role in Urban Air Transportation Business?"

New disruptors that change the way of traveling may be arising from airspace, in addition to existing ride- and car-sharing, that have changed people's minds and will have an effect on car sales.  Many start-ups and aircraft manufacturers are tackling the challenge to realize the urban air transportation business and have begun to improve the level of technology.  In his research, Ito focused on the technologies used in the urban air transportation ecosystem and concluded that Mitsubishi Electric could provide some of these technologies.  He suggests that Mitsubishi Electric should find the partners by leveraging its U.S. offices and other group companies, which could become a lesson for other Japanese companies.  

 

Yoshihiro Kato, Future Architect, Inc., "How Can Companies Adopt Artificial Intelligence in Business?"

Deep learning has received a great deal of attention since it broke a conventional method at an image recognition competition in 2012.  Since then, almost every industry is exploring the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve productivity and make innovation.  Tech giants such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Baidu and others that have invested large amounts of resources to AI have become far more advanced than other companies.  How can ordinary companies adopt AI in their business?  In his presentation, Kato shares insights into the essential factors for companies to implement AI in business.

Hong Cao PetroChina
Kazumasa Ito Mitsubishi Electric
Yoshihiro Kato Future Architect, Inc.
Seminars
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The format of this presentation is each of the three speakers will have approximately 15 minutes to present their research.  This will be followed by a short period of 5-10 minutes for any questions or comments from the audience.

In this session of the Corporate Affiliates Research Presentations, the following will be presented:

 

Kazushi Nomura, Japan Patent Office, "Does the Supreme Court Decision Regarding Patent Eligibility Stifle Innovation in Artificial Intelligence?"

In the United States, the standard of patent eligibility of software-related inventions has been significantly raised and complicated since a Supreme Court decision (Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank) in 2014 that has sparked considerable discussion in the patent community.  According to the report published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in 2017, companies in the computer-related industry are divided in their view on the Supreme Court decision.  Some companies that had suffered from a large number of patent lawsuits, mainly from Patent Assertion Entities (PAEs), welcome the decision because it protects against abusive patent litigation.  Other companies, however, oppose the decision, insisting that it hurts the value of patents and innovation.  One leading Artificial Intelligence (AI) company has argued that the decision is curtailing innovation in cutting edge areas of information technology such as artificial intelligence.  Why does this company insist that the Supreme Court decision stifles research on AI technology?  In his research, Nomura tries to reveal the background by analyzing patent data.

 

Ramya Raveendran, Reliance Life Sciences, "Regulatory Requirements for Registration of Biosimilar Products"

Biosimilars are blockbuster drugs in the sense that they are affordable copies of the expensive original biologic drug, providing much needed affordable quality healthcare.  A number of top selling biologic brands in key therapeutic areas are due to lose product patent protection over the next few years, opening a wealth of opportunities for biosimilar players.  Biosimilar product development for launch in multiple geographic locations with various regulatory expectations would require a clear and concise understanding of the regulatory framework of each region.  In her research, Raveendran's primary goal is to understand the regulatory requirements for registration of biosimilar products in various global markets and to also compare and contrast the regulatory requirements of these regions.

 

Toshiyuki Watanabe, The Asahi Shimbun, "The Stanford Process:  Key Factors and Successful Implementation of Entrepreneurship Education"

Stanford University continues its role as a farm of Silicon Valley as many successful start-ups have their beginnings here.  How does Stanford teach entrepreneurship?  Through auditing classes and utilizing other resources, Watanabe has observed and experienced some of the education system of entrepreneurship at Stanford.  In his presentation, he shares his insights on key factors of the "idea fo start-up" process.  He also proposes how his own company, The Asahi Shimbun, should implement these key factors in their innovation process.  

Kazushi Nomura Japan Patent Office
Ramya Raveendran Reliance Life Sciences
Toshiyuki Watanabe The Asahi Shimbun
Seminars
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The formate of this presentation is each of the three speakers will have approximately 15 minutes to present their research.  This will be followed by a short period of 5-10 minutes for any questions or comments from the audience.

In this session of the Corporate Affiliates Research Presentations, the following will be presented:

 

Hiroto Akai, Ministry of Finance, Japan, "New Trends of Corporate Finance in Japan and the Role of Corporate Governance"

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After the launch of the Abe administration, the Japanese economy has been prospering thanks to a vibrant global economy and weaker yen.  In the wake of economic upswing, Japanese corporate profit increased to record-high level.  However, some economists argue that most Japanese corporations used increased profit to accumulate cash holding but they did not increase investment and dividend payment.  In his research, Akai characterizes the behavior of Japanese corporations in recent years using corporate financial data and clarifies the relationship with their corporate governance which is one of the most progressive policy areas in the Abe administration.  Akai also tries to develop the model to explore quantitatively the determination of corporate behavior.

 

Takahito Inoshita, Kozo Keikaku Engineering, "How Can Cities Identify Policy Needs by Using Natural Language Data"

Obtaining intelligence from large amount of data is getting more and more common in a variety of domains as information technology evolves and everyone has access.  Particularly in commercial sectors, many companies try to capture their customers' thoughts.  In public sectors, it is also important to know what their citizens think, prefer, want and need in order to improve their communities.  In his research, Inoshita examines how to make sure of information technology in the public policy domain, with a focus on extracting intelligence from natural language data generated by humans.

 

Michelle Chen, Yongjin Group, "Chinese Fintech Market Research Balance Transfer Business"

Due to the shift in Chinese economic structure from an investment-driven model towards a consumption-driven model, an increase in outstanding balance of China personal consumption loan, more digital adoption, and innovation through technology development, the Chinese Fintech market is booming in recent years.  It presents immense opportunities for financial players. New business models are observed across the key areas in the financial services industry in China, such as online asset trading, online consumer finance, P2P, online investment, etc.  In her own experience, Chen has the opportunity to observe various Chinese Fintech start-up companies and do some research and investment.  One of her own investments, Samoyed Financial, provides online credit card repayment service in China.  In this research presentation, Chen shares her knowledge gained regarding the Chinese online credit card repayment market based on due diligence and first-hand observation.

Hiroto Akai Ministry of Finance, Japan
Takahito Inoshita Kozo Keikaku Engineering
Michelle Chen Yongjin Group
Seminars
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The format of this presentation is each of the three speakers will have approximately 15 minutes to present their research.  This will be followed by a short period of 5-10 minutes for any questions or comments from the audience.

In this session of the Corporate Affiliates Research Presentations, the following will be presented:

 

Jiangbo Lu, PetroChina, "The Influence Factors of International Crude Oil Price and the Feasible Countermeasure

Oil plays a vital role in the world economy, social development and national strategic security.  The international oil price fluctuates with dramatic and unpredictable changes and exerts far-reaching influences on the economic development of all countries across the world.  In his research, Lu shares a brief historic review of the international oil prices and analysis on the influencing factors of oil price fluctuation in the perspectives of supply-demand, finance, political and emergent events.  Further, Lu investigates the proactive and effective strategies for China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) to have high-quality development by reducing costs and increasing benefits to enhance the company's cord competitiveness against the drastic fluctuations of the international oil price.  

 

Takeshi Okamoto, Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry, Japan, "The Role of Creation and Redistribution of Wealth with Regards to the Economic Welfare of a Country"

Increasing wealth often refers to material wealth such as income & property and, in general, is a good thing.  Economic growth always has high priority in government policy.  Utilizing AI technology, big data analysis, IoT, and so on, we aim to extend not only lifespan, but also "healthspan", to realize next-generation mobility technology, to foster talent for programming and so on from the viewpoint of economic growth.  All are important, however, by realizing these, will we be happier than we are now?  What issues should be considered as life expectancy exceeds 85 years while the population growth rate continues to decline?  In his research, focusing on people's happiness rather than economic growth, Okamoto aims to provide a slightly different viewpoint when considering the emphasis in government policies.

 

Hayato Watanabe, Hamamatsu Shinkin Bank, "Regional Financial Institutions:  Their Role in Connecting Japanese Manufacturing Businesses with Silicon Valley Start-ups"

Japan's global market share is rapidly shrinking.  As a regional financial institution, the Hamamatsu Shinkin Bank focuses on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).  With a goal of connecting enterprises in Japan with Silicon Valley Start-ups focusing on manufacturing, Watanabe has interviewed several Silicon Valley venture capitalists with expertise in manufacturing development.  In his research presentation, Watanabe shares his findings on how and why Japanese SMEs need to modify their business style and practices to expand their market share, including how to make prototype products with start-ups in Silicon Valley.  
 

Jiangbo Lu PetroChina
Takeshi Okamoto METI, Japan
Hayato Watanabe Hamamatsu Shinkin Bank
Seminars
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Michael McFaul, former US ambassador to Russia and director of Stanford's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, shares an inside account of U.S.-Russia relations. In 2008, when he was asked to step away from Stanford and join an unlikely presidential campaign, Professor McFaul had no idea that he would find himself at the beating heart of one of today’s most contentious and consequential international relationships. Marking the publication of his new book, From Cold War to Hot Peace, this talk combines history and memoir to tell the full story of U.S.-Russia relations from the fall of the Soviet Union to the new rise of Vladimir Putin.

 

 

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Michael McFaul, MA '86, is a professor of political science, director and senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and the Peter and Helen Bing Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. He has served the Obama administration as Special Assistant to the President, Senior Director for Russian and Eurasian Affairs at the National Security Council at the White House, and most recently as the U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation. Professor McFaul has written and edited several books on international relations and foreign policy and his op-ed writings have been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. His latest book is From Cold War to Hot Peace: An American Ambassador in Putin's Russia. As a NBC News analyst, he provides expertise on foreign affairs and national security coverage.

 

This event is co-sponsored by The European Security Initiative & Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies, Stanford University. It is free and open to the public.

 

CEMEX Auditorium

Stanford Graduate School of Business

Encina Hall
616 Jane Stanford Way
Stanford, CA 94305-6055

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Senior Fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
Ken Olivier and Angela Nomellini Professor of International Studies, Department of Political Science
Peter and Helen Bing Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution
mcfaul_headshot_2025.jpg PhD

Michael McFaul is the Ken Olivier and Angela Nomellini Professor of International Studies in Political Science, Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and the Peter and Helen Bing Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, all at Stanford University. He joined the Stanford faculty in 1995 and served as FSI Director from 2015 to 2025. He is also an international affairs analyst for MSNOW.

McFaul served for five years in the Obama administration, first as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Russian and Eurasian Affairs at the National Security Council at the White House (2009-2012), and then as U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation (2012-2014).

McFaul has authored ten books and edited several others, including, most recently, Autocrats vs. Democrats: China, Russia, America, and the New Global Disorder, as well as From Cold War to Hot Peace: An American Ambassador in Putin’s Russia, (a New York Times bestseller) Advancing Democracy Abroad: Why We Should, How We Can; and Russia’s Unfinished Revolution: Political Change from Gorbachev to Putin.

He is a recipient of numerous awards, including an honorary PhD from Montana State University; the Order for Merits to Lithuania from President Gitanas Nausea of Lithuania; Order of Merit of Third Degree from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, and the Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching at Stanford University. In 2015, he was the Distinguished Mingde Faculty Fellow at the Stanford Center at Peking University.

McFaul was born and raised in Montana. He received his B.A. in International Relations and Slavic Languages and his M.A. in Soviet and East European Studies from Stanford University in 1986. As a Rhodes Scholar, he completed his D. Phil. in International Relations at Oxford University in 1991. 

CV
Date Label
Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University
Seminars
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The format of this presentation is each of the three speakers will have approximately 15 minutes to present their research.  This will be followed by a short period of 5-10 minutes for any questions or comments from the audience.

In this session of the Corporate Affiliates Research Presentations, the following will be presented:

 

Hiroki Morishige, Shizuoka Prefectural Government, "Regional Revitalization:  Overcoming Population Decline by Innovation and Work-Style Revolution"

Population decline has been a major issue for Japan.  In the near future, this problem will cause a labor shortage and weaken local economies.  In order to overcome these, economic growth is an important key, and improvement of labor productivity is an essential element.  Labor productivity = GDP / Working hours, so we need to improve GDP by innovation and reduce working hours by work-style reform.  Morishige intends to propose approaches to realize regional revitalization in his hometown of Shizuoka by linking a bridge of innovation between Silicon Valley and Shizuoka.

 

Hiroshi Nishinaka, Ishin Co., Ltd., "How Large Japanese Enterprises Collaborate with Start-ups to Accelerate Innovation Effectively"

Silicon Valley continues to attract attention as the center of tech start-ups and innovation.  A growing proportion of the most valuable companies in the U.S. are tech companies such as Silicon Valley based tech giants -- Apple, Alphabet, and Facebook. Therefore, many large Japanese enterprises have recently been sending people to accelerate internal innovation, utilizing the Silicon Valley ecosystem.  However, many of these Japanese enterprises face common difficulties due to the cultural gap and complicated decision-making processes.  In his research, Nishinaka will share some insights into how large Japanese enterprises collaborate with start-ups to accelerate innovation effectively.  

 

Jeong Ah Ryou, The Yozma Group, "Key Success Elements of Venture Capital Ecosystem in the U.S."

Korea is considered a country with an advanced venture capital industry.  In 2017, the amount of newly arranged venture funds was over $4.4 billion USD and the total investment amount is $2.4 billion USD, each setting the highest record respectively. Although, the total size of venture capital investment is rapidly increasing each year along with the support of policy-based funds, it should be noted that the supply of venture capital to start-ups is still not sufficient compared to Korea's market size.  In her research Ryou investigates the virtuous cycle of the venture capital ecosystem in the U.S., which has mainly been driven by the private sector.  Ryou will present some of her observations of key findings and current issues about the U.S. venture capital ecosystem.  

Hiroki Morishige Shizuoka Prefectural Government
Hiroshi Nishinaka Ishin Co., Ltd.
Jeong Ah Ryou The Yozma Group
Seminars
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