Making Space for Everyone

Poet Nikki Giovanni conjures imagery that, on the surface, seems whimsical—space travel to Mars accompanied by the songs of Billie Holiday and slices of lemon pound cake. Yet her vivid language reminds us that we can learn from the past to imagine how we might construct our shared destiny on this planet, and on others.

Organizations still rely heavily on assessments of privacy impacts with simplistic forms and functions that are poor matches for the layered complexity of today’s technologies.

Public participation in public utility commissions is a powerful way for individuals to influence the policymaking process. As energy infrastructure and consumption is reimagined, the public should be more effectively engaged at both state and federal levels.

Understanding—and acknowledging—how fossil preparators turn nature into useful scientific specimens offers insights into how other research disciplines could engage meaningfully with the public, make the research community more inclusive, and expand the definition of what constitutes scientific inquiry.

Alondra Nelson, the first deputy director for science and society in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, talks about “a new social compact for science and technology policy” that would make innovation more inclusive and equitable, reckon with the nation’s past, and use social science to improve policymaking.

Scientific innovation cuts across every aspect of our lives. Underlying this reality is a pressing question: How does the government recruit and retain the people needed to drive that innovation on a national scale?

NASA came to see the public as instrumental in accomplishing its mission. What does this mean for other R&D agencies trying to create societal value, relevance, and connection?

Messy and unpredictable situations have exposed the limits of current design practices. Could a new AI-powered methodology empower humans to innovate and solve problems?

It’s time to modernize the federal role in the nation’s increasingly decentralized R&D ecosystem and unleash innovation at the local level.

Following fatal landslides, the town of Sitka, Alaska, worked with scientists to create a new, individualized hazard warning system, revealing the complexities of coproducing knowledge.

With every heat wave and flood, the failure to translate climate science into insight and action puts the health and well-being of people in vulnerable communities at risk. Intentional partnerships between residents, scientists, government, industry, and philanthropy can fix this disconnect.

Medical research that can’t be replicated hinders discoveries. Could an artificial intelligence-powered tool change the incentives to benefit scientists, taxpayers, and patients?

Serious cooperation between US and Chinese scientists is getting more difficult as geopolitical tensions increase. But with a deliberate strategy the two countries can realize massive potential gains.

Over the last three decades, foreign students have supported the bottom lines of US universities, technology companies, and communities. Now their numbers are falling.