Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program

News

Kleinman serves as panelist for Ann Arbor Art + Feminism 2026 event

Mar 25, 2026

STPP Managing Director Molly Kleinman participated as a panelist along with other University of Michigan faculty members on creating a feminist, inclusive, and more equitable internet in the era of AI in a recent Ann Arbor and University of Michigan...

News

Kleinman participates in technology and policy training for international fellows

Mar 13, 2026

Last week, the Fastest Path to Zero Initiative at the University of Michigan helped to train the next generation by welcoming more than 40 international public-sector professionals through the U.S. Department of State's Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship ...

Group picture of Fastest Path International Fellows

Alumni spotlight

Q&A with STPP Alum Divya Ramesh

Mar 3, 2026

Divya Ramesh is an Assistant Professor of Human-Centered Computing and Education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Alumni spotlight

Updated interview with MPP, STPP alum Melvin Washington II

Feb 24, 2026

Melvin Washington II serves as Manager of Strategic Initiatives and Planning at the Mellon Foundation.

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

News

Lessons from my Summer of Systems Thinking

Oct 22, 2025

By Shuhaib Nawawi, PhD Candidate at SEAS This summer, I participated in the Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP) at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Laxenburg, Austria, an institute founded in 1972 to foster colla...

Shuhaib Nawawi showing a graph at summer institute

News

Featured Faculty Affiliate Paul Fleming talks about his upcoming book, career path, STPP, and more

Sep 22, 2025

STPP faculty affiliate Paul J. Fleming is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Behavior & Health Equity at the School of Public Health. His work focuses on the root causes of racial health inequities and policy and programmatic strategi...

News

Partnership opportunities available with new Michigan Science and Technology Fellowship

May 14, 2025

STPP is moving forward with planning for the new Michigan Science, Technology, and Public Policy Fellowship (MiST). MiST Fellows will bring science and technology expertise to state government that will deliver evidence-based policy outcomes for Mich...

STPP to establish Michigan science and technology fellowship

News

STPP Alum Will Ellerbe reflects on his public policy training and whistleblower trial victory

May 8, 2025

Michigan Law School and STPP alum William H. Ellerbe is Whistleblower Lawyer and Qui Tam Shareholder at Berger Montague. He practices in the Firm’s Whistleblower, Qui Tam & False Claims Act group, which has collectively recovered more than $3 billion...

News

STPP Alum earns American Chemical Society Science Policy Fellowship

Apr 11, 2025

STPP Alum Vaidehi (Vai) Shastri has been selected for the American Chemical Society’s Science Policy Fellowship beginning in the fall. At ACS, she’ll be getting an insight into the federal policy landscape while working with the Government Affairs te...

News

Experiential Learning with OSI

Mar 19, 2025

In Fall 2024, the Science, Technology and Public Policy Program (STPP) partnered with the City of Ann Arbor's Office of Sustainability and Innovations (OSI) Director Dr. Missy Stults, Ann Arbor City Attorney Valerie Brader, and Senior Analyst for Eng...

News

Q&A with SEAS and STPP's Olivia David

Mar 18, 2025

Olivia David is a Doctoral Candidate at University of Michigan's School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS), from which she also obtained her MS degree. She also holds a Graduate Certificate from STPP. The following interview has been edited fo...

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

News

STPP Expands Education Offerings

Feb 26, 2025

STPP continues to offer a number of academic and co-curricular opportunities for undergraduate students, both within and outside of the Ford School, highlighted on our updated webpage. These include student organizations like Leaders for Ethical AI D...

Engaged Learning Student Projects Catalog: Preparing Ford School students for leadership

News

Reflection on ASU's 2025 Winter School on emerging technologies

Feb 6, 2025

By Jared Katzman, PhD student, School of Information Thanks to the STPP Career Development Grant, I had the opportunity to attend the 2025 Winter School hosted by Arizona State University’s School for the Future of Innovation and Society. We spent a ...

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

News

Paving the Way: Taking Bold Action Toward Environmental Justice

Jan 30, 2025

In alignment with the University of Michigan’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium's 2025 theme of "Restless Dissatisfaction: An Urgent Call for the Pursuit of Justice and Equality, the School for Environment and Sustainability and the Gerald R. Fo...

Environmental justice panelists' picture

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...

News

Student Researcher Alum Sujin Kim discusses work with Senate Committee

Dec 2, 2024

STPP recently reached out to our former student researcher Sujin Kim (BA Political Science '22) to ask her some questions about her current job with the US Senate. Her answers are edited for length. Can you please give me an overview of your current ...

News

STPP student Lotte De Jong reflects on her Mirzayan Fellowship

Nov 13, 2024

Launched in 1997, the Christine Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship Program is a full-time, hands-on training and educational program that provides early career individuals with the opportunity to spend 12 weeks at the National A...

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

Webinar: Making Technology Work For Everyone: Empowering Civil Society and Technologists to Work Together to Shape our Future

May 20, 2025, 3:30-5:00 pm EDT

Please join the Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program for "Making Technology Work For Everyone: Empowering Civil Society and Technologists to Work Together to Shape our Future," a webinar about the importance of bringing together technical experts with civil society organizations.

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

Webinar: Broadening Horizons: How STEM-in-Society Programs Train Socially Responsible Scientists, Engineers, and Policy Leaders

Apr 10, 2025, 4:00-5:00 pm EDT

Please join the Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program for a webinar introducing the findings of a new report, "Broadening Horizons: How STEM-in-Society Programs Train Socially Responsible Scientists, Engineers, and Policy Leaders."

The Biological Sciences Building on a sunny afternoon

Policy Brief

Understanding ICE Surveillance and its Civil Rights Implications

June 17, 2026

Madeleine Gibbons-Shapiro, Master’s in Public Policy ‘27

Recent operations of U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) have revealed an extensive web of surveillance technologies and databases of private information that ICE uses to track, arrest, and deport people. ICE contracts with private companies...

image of surveillance camera with green light on

Policy Brief

Voter Assist Terminal (VAT) & Accessibility Best Practices for Michigan Election Clerks

June 3, 2026

Madeleine Gibbons-Shapiro, Master’s in Public Policy ‘27

Every polling place in the United States is required to have an accessible voting machine. Here in Michigan, they are called Voter Assist Terminals, or VATs. A Voter Assist Terminal (VAT) is an accessible, touch-screen device available for voters to ...

A smiling young woman with curly brown hair and a nametag that reads "Volunteer". The woman hands an older gentleman who has fair skin, glasses, and white hair a pair of headphones so that he may use the Voter Assist Terminal (VAT) to vote.

Policy Brief

ShotSpotter Fails on Its Own Claims

May 27, 2026

John Blake, MPP and MS, Environment and Sustainability

On their website, SoundThinking Inc. (formerly ShotSpotter, Inc.), claims that ShotSpotter enables law enforcement to "1) be able to respond to a higher percentage of gunfire incidents; 2) improve response times to crime scenes to better aid victims ...

image of a surveillance camera on a traffic light post

Policy Brief

Bridging the Divide in Cancer Screening for People with Disabilities: Barriers and Recommendations

May 13, 2026

Akshara Karthik, BA Public Policy '26; Jamie Junior, President, Detroit Tenants’ Rights Commission and Vice Chair of the Michigan Developmental Disabilities Council

People with disabilities represent one of the largest and most heterogeneous populations in the United States, spanning all ages, ethnicities, and socioeconomic backgrounds. In fact, nearly one in four American adults (approximately 50 million indivi...

Woman shown getting a mammogram with technician standing by her

Policy Brief

Assistive Technology: An Educational Overview and Recommendations

May 1, 2026

John Blake, MPP and MS, Environment and Sustainability

Executive summaryThis memo briefly describes what assistive technology (AT) is; summarizes how it differs from other accessibility terms; compares the different types of AT; and outlines the legal structures and barriers for supporting and using AT i...

Image of knee scooter with a person's knee and leg in boot cast

Policy Brief

Understanding Quantum Computing and its Policy Implications

March 30, 2026

Saima Rashid, MPP, MS, Environment and Sustainability '27

Quantum computing (QC), once considered simply a part of theoretical physics, has advanced rapidly in the last few decades. The QC industry has entered the "utility era," where quantum systems are beginning to demonstrate practical advantages for spe...