By Gabrielle Grey, Ph.D. Pre-Candidate, Taub Group, Materials Science & Engineering
During the first week of 2026, I was able to attend the 13th annual Arizona State University Winter School on Emerging Technologies amidst the beautiful setting of the Saguaro Lake Ranch in Tonto National Park just outside of Phoenix, AZ. This program, run by ASU's School for the Future of Innovation in Society, focused on advancing young academics' ability to contribute impactful scholarship and reflect on the impact of our own work through interactive lectures, small group discussions, and informal talks with senior scholars. This experience was made possible through the generous support of the STPP student development grant.
This was an incredibly enriching experience for myself as I was able to meet other peers in the early stage of their careers from disciplines ranging from sociology, science communication, synthetic biology, to information technology, among others. This interdisciplinary cohort of individuals challenged me to look past my established ways of thinking about the societal impact of technology and introduced new perspectives on how science and technology can interface with society in its development and implementation.
Out of the curated speakers at the winter school a couple of the most impactful sessions for me were Dave Guston & Heather Douglas' debate on the "Social Contract for Science" and Andrew Maynard's "Media Communication for Scientists." Guston & Douglas' talk focused on the different views of how the tacit contract of promised good arising from scientific research has fallen apart, and enabled us to discuss what the future direction of research might be and how we might better enshrine humanities work in future framework. This was furthered by Maynard's talk, where we not only learned about his experience on the Hill, but also about how support for different types of science can be underpinned by strategies of communication to direct investment and political support.
Outside of the classroom, we were able to participate in a breadth of fun activities from hiking, horseback riding, and SciDance (dancing to communicate research) which enabled us to foster relationships with each other. This experience at the ASU winter school has been immensely impactful on my personal and academic development, as it has left me with a network of peers and friends whose expertise has challenged me to grow and stretch in directions outside of my comfort zone. I am incredibly thankful to the program organizers at the ASU winter school and to STPP for its financial support so that I could participate in this experience.
