In our second interactive discussion, we will be exploring how the design of policies influences the interface between technology and societal challenges. We’ll draw examples from data privacy laws and nuclear policy in the US and agricultural policies in India, highlighting how policy structures and implementation processes impact the nature and distribution of technology adoption and can reinforce existing societal hierarchies. We will then move on to group discussions of further examples and think through elements of effective policy design and the role of evidence and information in policymaking.

We talk about the importance of science and technology informing relevant policy, but how is this actually done? Where does one begin, what are the best ways to get policymakers engaged on the important issues, and how does one work towards meaningful results?

How do fundamental STEM research results feed into policy? How does cutting-edge science go from the laboratory bench to meaningful legislation? When and how do we start thinking about the relevance of the research questions we’re asking in the policy domain? In this workshop, two experts will discuss specific aspects of their experience translating fundamental STEM research on topics like mercury oxidation and transport or nuclear resonance into meaningful policy outputs on issues like climate change air pollutant goals, and nuclear warhead verification. Dr. […]

Tomas Green: Distributed Effects of Climate Policy on US Households Nic Rothbacher: Fare Evasion Enforcement in New York City: Predictive Policing in a Racially Biased Context Karan Bhuwalka: Can metals supply keep up with electric vehicle demand? See the full list of spring research seminars  

Sohum Pawar

Gabe Bann: Rethinking Federal Disaster Aid Policy in the Context of Social Vulnerability Hannah Whisnant: Split Learning on FPGAs See the full list of spring research seminars

Maryam Shahid: Identity and Trust Frameworks: Design and Analysis of identity transactions online Andrew Mowry: The Challenges of Deploying EV Fast Charging Infrastructure See the full list of spring research seminars    

Prof. Cathy Wu, IDSS will join us for a discussion on ongoing local institutional efforts to manage the covid-19 crisis and potential collaborations with research groups at MIT. Wu will share details on IDSS contributions so far in municipal response efforts. Register