Departments and Research Centers

Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program

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Showing 151 - 180 of 358 results
News

Green takes a look at tech ethics

Jun 15, 2021
Technology companies have been at the center of many public controversies recently—from hacking threats and data security to fake news and manipulating algorithms. Do the ethics of technological advancement—"tech ethics"—have any influence on the...
Using algorithms in government: Opportunities, challenges, and paths forward
In the Media

Rabe evaluates Biden's climate policy

Jun 15, 2021 The Christian Science Monitor
While President Biden has shown a lot of initiative for climate policy in the first months of his term, many scholars say something is missing: a carbon tax. Barry Rabe, the J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Professor of Public Policy, provided an...
Rabe evaluates Biden's climate policy
News

STPP wins grant to explore Large Language Models  

Jun 11, 2021
Large Language Models (LLM) — machine learning algorithms that can recognize, predict, and  generate human languages on the basis of very large text-based data sets — have captured the imagination of scientists, entrepreneurs, and tech-watchers....
STPP gift to expand educational opportunities for undergraduates
State & Hill

Breaking down public trust

Jun 10, 2021
By Rebecca Cohen (MPP '09)Americans’ trust in government institutions to “do the right thing” has steadily eroded since the late 1960s,1 correlated for many analysts with events such as the Vietnam War, Watergate, the ’70s oil embargo, and President...
Breaking down public trust
In the Media

Parthasarathy comments on OTC COVID-19 tests

May 30, 2021 Chemical and Engineering News
Even as the rates of COVID-19 are dropping, the disease remains a threat. A need remains for COVID testing, and over-the-counter COVID-19 tests are being experimented with in the U.S. But, with these tests being taken at home, the question of how to...
Parthasarathy: ChatGPT reinforces human biases
In the Media

Parthasarathy discusses patents and vaccines

May 24, 2021 The American Prospect
As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, vaccines have allowed some freedom from the virus. But, patents on the vaccines are preventing others around the world from receiving the life saving shot. In turn, the White House has received pressure to waive...
Parthasarathy discusses patents and vaccines
News

Invest in innovation — Owen-Smith

May 23, 2021
In a recent op-ed for The Hill, Jason Owen-Smith, professor of public policy and director of the Institute for Research on Innovation and Science, calls for federal investment in leading research universities in order to promote growth and...
Invest in innovation — Owen-Smith
In the Media

Parthasarathy provides insight on vaccine patterns

May 18, 2021 The Hill
As vaccine rates increase across the country, interesting patterns are being noticed. Shobita Parthasarathy, professor of public policy, explained the pattern Michigan is experiencing.  “Michigan is sort of a purple, leaning blue, state and you...
The politics of inclusive innovation in international development: Menstrual hygiene management and sanitary pads in India
In the Media

Parthasarathy puts results of vaccine hesitancy study in context

May 12, 2021 WXYZ Detroit
A recent study from researchers at U-M concluded that vaccine hesitancy could impede a goal of herd immunity when it comes to COVID-19. Shobita Parthasarathy, a co-author of the study and director of the Ford School's Science, Technology, and Public...
Parthasarathy discusses patents and vaccines
News

Robert Hampshire appointed chief science officer at USDOT

Apr 23, 2021
Robert Hampshire will serve as the U.S. Department of Transportation's chief science officer, a role that has not been filled in more than 40 years. He was appointed assistant secretary for research and technology for the department, and will advise...
Robert Hampshire appointed chief science officer at USDOT
In the Media

Parthasarathy discusses bias in pandemic science

Mar 22, 2021 BBC World
"Science is always going to be viewed through the lens of people through their values, assumptions, biases, and politics," said Shobita Parthasarathy. But, she said, "bias is natural....It's not a bad thing to have bias."  It's necessary for...
Parthasarathy: ChatGPT reinforces human biases
In the Media

Rabe comments on immediate use of a debated climate metric

Mar 16, 2021 Bloomberg Law
The Biden administration changed a key climate change metric—the social cost of carbon—to $51 in late February, in a move that will allow regulators to write more stringent carbon emissions rules. Barry Rabe said two of Biden's priorities—cutting...
Rabe comments on immediate use of a debated climate metric
Alumni spotlight

Interview with MPP, STPP alum Melvin Washington II

Mar 4, 2021
Melvin Washington is an alumnus of the Ford School’s Master of Public Policy Program and the Science, Technology, & Public Policy Graduate Certificate Program. In his role as a Program Associate at the Vera Institute of Justice, he puts this passion...
STPP alumni webinar with Melvin Washington (MPP '18), Vera Institute of Justice
In the Media

Parthasarathy comments on the increasing politicization of science

Jan 25, 2021 Chemical & Engineering News
Noting fierce partisan debates over the science behind COVID-19, Shobita Parthasarathy comments that "These are really values debates masquerading as scientific debates. And putting them into the language of science is bad for science, but it is...
Parthasarathy comments on the increasing politicization of science
In the Media

Parthasarathy comments on Biden's science strategy

Jan 21, 2021 Axios
Emphasizing a need to pay attention to marginalized communities, Shobita Parthasarathy says "Giving people more involvement in decision-making about what research is prioritized and how it is carried out could help "align government's values with...
Parthasarathy named to prestigious French council