In the Media

Administration rules on research put innovation at risk - Parthasarathy

Jun 12, 2026 Bloomberg

It's hard not to imagine that ambition being dimmed by the constant threat of shifting political priorities. Innovation in the US "is likely to be massively curtailed," says Shobita Parthasarathy, director of the University of Michigan's Science, Tec...

Administration rules on research put innovation at risk - Parthasarathy

In the Media

Green: "Antagonism toward data centers is real and organic"

Jun 10, 2026 Fortune

Ben Green, assistant professor of information at the University of Michigan, told Fortune there's meanwhile abundant signs that antagonism toward data centers is real and organic. "Anyone who doubts it should just show up to any of the communities wh...

Green: "Antagonism toward data centers is real and organic"

In the Media

State governments are experimenting with AI introduction - Kleinman

May 22, 2026 Michigan Advance

Molly Kleinman, the managing director of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy program at the University of Michigan's Ford School of Public Policy said while state governments are trying to be deliberate about their approach to AI adoption, the...

State governments are experimenting with AI introduction - Kleinman

In the Media

Kleinman quoted in NPR article on Ft. Wayne data center

Jan 5, 2026 WFYI Indianapolis

Kleinman quoted in Ft. Wayne NPR/PBS article about data centers.

Growth of data centers requires new policies to mitigate local community impacts

In the Media

Kleinman comments on DPD use of ShotSpotter

Dec 16, 2025 Michigan Advance

Molly Kleinman, the managing director of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy program at the University of Michigan, commented to Michigan Advance about the Detroit Police Department use of ShotSpotter. "In terms of the best practices for any c...

STPP brings interdisciplinary, historical perspectives to public interest technology issues

In the Media

Green addresses data center forum

Dec 4, 2025 Michigan Advance

Ben Green, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Information and the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, explained that using programs like ChatGPT or video generation platforms requires a huge amount of energy, increasin...

Using algorithms in government: Opportunities, challenges, and paths forward

In the Media

Kleinman quoted in Michigan Advance Data Center article

Dec 4, 2025 Michigan Advance

"As data centers flock to Michigan communities, what protections exist for residents?" article from Michigan Advance quotes STPP's Molly Kleinman.

In the Media

Kleinman outlines potential effects of data centers

Dec 3, 2025 Michigan Advance

"Are the products that they're running – the sort of generative AI general use kinds of tools like ChatGPT – are those serving a purpose in society? Those start to become big questions, but when you think about the trade offs, I think they're worth a...

In the Media

Green comments on community push-back on data centers

Oct 29, 2025 Gizmodo

“I don’t think that the case is super compelling for what these data centers are bringing to the table,” Ben Green, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan’s School of Information, told Gizmodo. “And I think that is borne out by just how...

In the Media

Faculty affiliate Ben Green quoted in Washington Post data center article

Oct 27, 2025 Washington Post

“It feels like there’s been a real shift over the last six months or so in terms of the public just becoming aware of what data centers are — and becoming increasingly skeptical,” said Ben Green, assistant professor of information in the Washington P...

In the Media

STPP Faculty Affilate Mike Shriberg named director of the U-M Water Center

Jun 25, 2025 University Record

Mike Shriberg, a longtime leader in Great Lakes water policy and sustainability, has been named director of the University of Michigan Water Center. He will assume the role July 1, 2025, succeeding Jennifer Read, who will retire at the end of the yea...

In the Media

The Michigan Daily covers STPP webinar on making technology work for everyone

May 23, 2025 The Michigan Daily

The Michigan Daily wrote about STTP's recent panel discussion about the importance of technical experts working with civil society organizations to serve the public. The webinar, titled “Making Technology Work For Everyone: Empowering Civil Society a...

Headshots of Shobita Parthasarathy, Molly Kleinman, Trevor Odelberg, Divya Ramesh, Annabella Vidrio, and Melvin Washington II

In the Media

STPP memo on oral fluid drug tests is cited in Bridge Michigan

May 15, 2025 Bridge Michigan

An STPP memo on oral fluid drug tests is cited in Bridge Michigan article about a bill in Lansing that would allow Michigan to follow the lead of 24 states and use roadside tests of saliva to give police probable cause to arrest motorists and take th...

In the Media

NSF cancels Ember McCoy's research grant to study air pollution in Detroit

Apr 30, 2025 Planet Detroit

The Trump administration terminated a National Science Foundation grant Friday that supported research on air pollution in Southwest Detroit’s 48217 ZIP code, one of the most heavily industrialized and polluted areas in Michigan. Ember McCoy, a docto...

In the Media

Parthasarathy on AI running the government

Mar 13, 2025 Al Jazeera

Shobita Parthasarathy, Ford School professor, says "These workers have real expertise and a nuanced understanding of the issues, which AI does not. AI does not, in fact, ‘understand’ anything." So, she says, “It’s a very bad idea" to use AI to run t...

The politics of inclusive innovation in international development: Menstrual hygiene management and sanitary pads in India

In the Media

Parthasarathy interviewed on BBC about 50th anniversary of Asilomar conference

Mar 4, 2025 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct5vf5

The BBC’s Science in Action program interviewed Shobita Parthasarathy recently regarding her evaluation of the Asilomar conference on biotechnology, occurring 50 years ago.

Parthasarathy talks algorithms place in the criminal justice system

In the Media

Scientists meet for the 50 year anniversary of genetic science conference - Parthasarathy

Feb 21, 2025 BBC

Last weekend, a scientific ethics conference was held in Asilomar, California, to recreate the meeting that occurred there 50 years prior. Half a century ago, scientists met to establish guidelines for the future and practice of genetic science. The ...

Shobita Parthasarathy’s “Expert Voices” column in Science: Beware the drive to scale technology

In the Media

STPP Alum Odelberg interviewed by ESAL on AI guidance for local governments

Feb 5, 2025 Engineering & Scientists Acting Locally (ESAL)

Engineers & Scientists Acting Locally (ESAL) recently interviewed STPP alum and current AAAS congressional fellow Trevor Odelberg about his work on the AI Handbook for Local Government in its "Stories from the field" series, which shares the experie...

Photo of people sitting outside Michigan Municipal League

In the Media

Green describes practical problems with algorithm oversight

Feb 4, 2025 Financial Times

Ben Green, professor at the Ford School, explains why human oversight of algorithms, such as the one that runs Google's Gmail spam protection, does not always work. He cites how "the human overseers are on a tight schedule — they have many cases to r...

In the Media

STPP Faculty Affiliate Monica Dus to direct new Office of National Laboratories

Jan 10, 2025 University Record

The University of Michigan has created a new office to support its partnerships with U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories, with Monica Dus, associate professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology, to be the office’s director.

In the Media

STPP Alum discusses 2024's coolest science on NPR's Science Friday

Jan 9, 2025 Science Friday

Science Friday's Ira Flatow sat down with Drs. Céline Gounder, Jackie Faherty, and Kevin Reed, three researchers from different areas of science to reflect on the most exciting discoveries in their fields, important stories you might have missed, and...

In the Media

Student Researcher Olivia David featured in the University Record for flood resilience efforts

Dec 16, 2024 Student Researcher Olivia David supporting flood resilience efforts in Great La…

University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) PhD Students Olivia David (MS ‘22) and Amy Van Zanen (MS ‘23) have been interested in flood resilience and its related policy tools and implications since they were SEAS master’s...

In the Media

Parthasarathy: AI energizes people to consider direction of science and technology

Dec 4, 2024 Nature

"Shobita Parthasarathy teaches graduate students about science policy at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. New technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) are 'really energizing people' to consider the directions of science and technolog...

In the Media

Trevor Odelberg and AI in Local Government Handbook featured in story by Austin, Texas NPR station

Oct 21, 2024 Read the story on AI in Austin, Texas

A reporter from the NPR station in Austin, Texas, reached out to author Trevor Odelberg (PhD Electrical and Computer Engineering '24) after seeing STPP and the Michigan Municipal League's Artificial Intelligence Handbook for Local Government online. ...

In the Media

Michigan Daily covers STPP event with New York Times Tech Reporter

Oct 17, 2024 Read the Daily's story

The Michigan Daily recently covered STPP's event at the Ford School in a feature article: NYT reporter Kashmir Hill discusses the privacy implications of facial recognition technology.

Who owns your face? NYT reporter Kashmir Hill discusses privacy in the era of facial recognition

In the Media

Raimi: Americans are often scared of climate migrants

Aug 7, 2024 CoreLogic

Kaitlin Raimi, Ford School professor, discussed how climate change communications color how people view climate migrants. She explained, climate migration is "people moving because of climate change," either catastrophic events or slower effects like...

Raimi: Americans are often scared of climate migrants

In the Media

Rabe explains Tim Walz's position on climate and energy

Aug 6, 2024 Axios

Barry Rabe, Ford School professor, explained in an Axios article what Tim Walz's positions are on climate and energy issues. Rabe said that Walz "would be very comfortable talking about this and championing how he's reinvented or repositioned his sta...

Rabe explains Tim Walz's position on climate and energy

In the Media

Companies should take responsibility on deepfake pornography - Parthasarathy

Jul 2, 2024 Michigan Advance

Shobita Parthasarathy, Ford School professor director of Science, Technology and Public Policy Program, discussed the Michigan bill lawmakers are working on to address the rise of non-consensual deepfake pornography. She said, “I worry about placing ...

In the Media

Kleinman on the hazards of facial recognition technology in schools

Oct 4, 2023 City & State

“One thing that’s different from a lot of these earlier kinds of surveillance technologies is the way that the data travels so far beyond the school where it’s coming from,” Kleinman said in an interview. “The student data in these databases is im...

In the Media

"Appropriative" patents a long-term problem - Parthasarathy

Sep 1, 2023 NPR Planet Money

The way that a lot of pharmaceutical companies got their knowledge was often from going to other countries and finding out about Indigenous knowledge and then coming back and testing that. So there's a famous case of Eli Lilly patenting a treatment f...