About David
David Takacs brings an uncommon mix of scientific training and legal scholarship to his work. He began his academic path in the sciences, earning a B.S. in Biology at Cornell University before completing an M.A. in History and Philosophy of Science and a Ph.D. in Science & Technology Studies at the same institution. He later pursued legal studies, receiving an LL.M. in International Law from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies and a J.D. from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco.
Those degrees shape the questions he asks in the classroom and in print. Takacs has held an academic appointment as Professor of Law at University of California, Hastings College of the Law, an institution now known as UC Law San Francisco. In that role he has taught courses that sit at the intersection of law, science and policy. His training in both empirical science and legal doctrine gives him a framework to examine how law responds to technical change.
Colleagues describe his approach as rigorous and interdisciplinary. He moves between statutory and regulatory texts and the empirical realities that drive technological development. That dual perspective informs his seminars and larger lecture courses. Students encounter historical context, philosophical questions about knowledge, and practical legal analysis in the same syllabus.
Takacs’s LL.M. in international law complements his domestic teaching. It allows him to place regulatory choices in a comparative and transnational setting. His work often considers how national legal systems deal with scientific uncertainty, how institutions structure evidence, and how policy choices affect technological adoption. He draws on his doctoral work to interrogate the assumptions that undergird legal responses to emerging technologies.
Outside the classroom he participates in scholarly conversations through articles and conferences. He has been involved in academic and professional networks that convene law professors, scientists and policymakers. His scholarship is oriented toward clarifying how legal rules interact with technical expertise rather than advocating for a single policy prescription.
He continues to teach at UC Law San Francisco and pursues research on the relationships among law, science, technology and international legal frameworks. He currently teaches and writes on topics that explore the intersections of law, science, technology and international law.
