Daniel Armanios

Daniel’s research integrates civil engineering and organisational theory to better understand how organisations coordinate to build, manage, and maintain infrastructure amidst complexity. He focuses on complexity arising from national and subnational variation in institutions, heterogeneity in individual capabilities, and reforms that aim to transition infrastructure from one set of guidelines to another. His findings inform efforts to advance sustainable development and innovation, while also alleviating systemic and persistent inequities within such systems. His research implements a mixed methods approach that integrates qualitative and quantitative data to overcome constraints that have historically hindered empirical analyses in these settings. His work is published in leading outlets across the engineering and social sciences including Organization Science, Strategic Management Journal, Academy of Management Discoveries, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Nature Sustainability, and the Journal of Construction Engineering and Management.

His current projects include using broadband and bridge networks as 'social sensors' to better enhance the resiliency and effectiveness of support for marginalized populations. Salient inquiries also encompass how political turmoil, such as the Arab Spring in Egypt and Tunisia and military coups in Thailand, affect state ecosystem support of entrepreneurship, R&D, and innovation. His latest project, 'Project S³', integrates research expertise from engineering and the social sciences to stress test 'today's major programmes for tomorrow's challenges'.  

Daniel actively translates his research into practice. He served as a committee member of the National Academy of Sciences’ Review, the U.S. Department of Energy’s SBIR/STTR program. He authored reports and public comments for the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Transportation (DOT), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). He is also a member of non-profit and for-profit boards, and consults for a spectrum of global executives, firms and governments. He has been interviewed by key media outlets encompassing Fortune, PBSNewsHour, NPR, and TheHill. He has also authored, by invitation, scholarly commentaries for scientific outlets such as Nature Energy. He has developed tools and datasets, including the State Government Experimentation database, which U.S. entrepreneurs, researchers, and policymakers use to explore and benchmark their state’s experimental efforts.

Daniel is an experienced teacher at the intersection of strategic management, organisational theory, and public sector management. He works with students in undergraduate and graduate degree programmes, in executive education for multinational firms and public sector agencies, and in leading bespoke teaching and workshops for the Schwarzman Scholars Program and Rhodes Trust globally. He also pioneers courses that integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion in engineering, business, and major programme issues as embodied by his award-winning Engineering and Social Justice course.