Science And Technology in Society

I’m back from the 2009 Science and Technology in Society Conference in DC where I really enjoyed meeting so many terrific graduate students interested in pursuing science and policy. I was there to discuss my career path–which admittedly, isn’t something I planned as a scientist turned radio DJ turned policy wonk turned blogger and author.  I emphasized the benefits of an interdisciplinary education and reminded everyone there are many ways to pursue a career in science.  The best advice I have echoed the message of the morning’s keynote address by James Turner, former Chief Counsel to the Committee on Science and Technology: Follow your passion.

Here I am on the career panel with Todd LePorte of George Mason University and Debra Mathews of the Berman Institute of Bioethics at Johns Hopkins University. The conference was a wonderful opportunity to explore the myriad of intersections between science, policy, and society and we should be having these conversations as often as possible.

I also moderated a thought-provoking graduate student panel on education where I was extremely impressed with the presentations–so much so, that every morning this week, I’ll be highlighting a panelist’s topic and posing a related question to readers from the discussion that followed. Here’s what we have to look forward to:

Tuesday: Megan Anderson, University of Wisconsin-Madison

The science in the News: A Useful Tool or Distracting Target in the Pursuit of Scientific Literacy?

Wednesday: Christine Luk, Arizona State University

Engaging Women in Science and Technology Policy-making: Beyond the Paradox of Under-representation of Women

Thursday: Fei Guo, Southeast University, Nanjing, China, University of Wisconsin-Madison

The Absense of Engineering Ethics in China and its Solutions: An STS Perspective

Friday: Reynold Galope, Georgie State and Georgia Tech

Defining a Comparison Sample to Measure the Effect of Institutional Factors on Highly Creative Scientific Research: Issues and Options

As you can see, a very interesting mix of subjects that will be fun to discuss here…