Sari Hanafi, who completed his doctoral dissertation in 1994 titled “Engineers in Syria: Modernization, Techno-Bureaucracy, and Identity,” is a Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Islamic Studies Program at the American University of Beirut. He also serves as the President of the International Sociological Association and is the editor of Idafat: The Arab Journal of Sociology (in Arabic). In 2018, he founded Portal Athar to examine the social impact of scientific research in the Arab world. In addition to his academic work, Hanafi has served as a consultant for numerous organizations, including the UN and the World Bank.