Science, Technology and Society (STS)

The National Science Foundation and many other oganizations have identified the lack of social and behavioral scientists engaged in the study of technology and its social impacts as a major national concern. To address these national concerns, the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences has moved aggressively to develop a strategic and goal-oriented Science, Technology and Society Initiative.

We have brought together faculty with technology expertise in many academic areas and hired nationally recognized faculty to supplement their strengths. Highly influential in current policymaking, these faculty provide insights and applications into the little understood implications of the growing uses of technologies in society. They work largely through the National Center for Digital Government, the Open Source Laboratory, and the National Center for Technology and Dispute Resolution, all housed within SBS. The centers are well known research programs dedicated to understanding the nature, origins and future uses of internet-based social interactions. Funding for faculty positions, staff, graduate student training, and new programs will enable SBS to surge ahead in this fertile research area.

Intersecting Science, Technology, and Society
Jane E. Fountain joined SBS in 2005 as director of the Science, Technology and Society Initiative to promote collaboration among the natural, physical and social sciences, engineering, and public policy. She brought with her 16 years of teaching, research, and outreach experience at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, as well as the National Center for Digital Government, a National Science Foundation-funded research center.

At UMass Amherst, Fountain saw a unique opportunity to work with a “wide and exciting range of outstanding researchers,” who focus on issues central to transitioning to an information society. She says, “The expertise, scale, and culture of this campus give us tremendous opportunities to identify, expand, and coordinate best practices in these areas.”

Public Policy Leader Focuses on Science, Technology and Society Initiative
Among the outstanding new faculty who joined the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at UMass Amherst in 2005 is Jane E. Fountain, formerly associate professor of public policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government for 16 years. As director of SBS’s Science, Technology and Society Initiative in the Political Science Department and the Center for Public Policy and Administration, she will promote multidisciplinary collaboration among the natural, physical and social sciences, engineering, and public policy.
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