Science and Technology Innovation Program
Events
Globalization: A Documentary
We would like to thank members of the Project on America and the Global Economy, the Latin American Project, the Division of International Studies, the Comparative Urban Studies Project, the Environmental Change and Security Project, the Canada Institute, Outreach and Communications, and Scholar Selection Services who dedicated time and energy to creating the Globalization Series. The film was edited and produced by Liz Freedman of the Foresight & Governance Project.
Leading Scientists Discuss Converging Technologies
Scientists talk about the convergence of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and cognitive science in this collection of exclusive interviews produced by the Science & Technology Innovation Program in conjunction with the National Science Foundation.
Virtual Solutions to Real-World Problems
The Foresight and Governance Project has been exploring how virtual worlds can be used to solve real world environmental problems. Take a tour of the ecological "hot spots" in Second Life, an online 3D virtual world.
The Future in Plain Sight
Eugene Linden, author of The Future in Plain Sight: Nine Clues to the Coming InstabilityLinden sees nine major indications that the world is veering toward another round of instability in the 21st century. These clues, he says, are "in plain sight": e.g., climate change, migration, population growth, and an imperfectly globalized economy. (First broadcast November 23-29, 1998)
Responding to Liability: Evaluating and Reducing Tort Liability for Digital Volunteers
Major emergencies and crises can overwhelm local resources. In the last several years, self-organized digital volunteers have begun leveraging the power of social media and “crowd-mapping” for collaborative crisis response. Rather than mobilizing a physical response, these digital volunteer groups have responded virtually by creating software applications, monitoring social networks, aggregating data, and creating “crowdsourced” maps to assist both survivors and the formal response community. These virtual responses can subject digital volunteers to tort liability. This report evaluates the precise contours of potential liability for digital volunteers.
PEN 17 - A Hard Pill to Swallow
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WASHINGTON - Historically, the regulation of dietary supplements has been a significant challenge for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the fact that some of these products are now being manufactured using nanotechnology creates an additional layer of complexity. This new report asks the question: Is FDA equipped to meet the emerging regulatory challenge of dietary supplements that use engineered nanomaterials? The short answer is no.
Wilson Center and IBM Explore the Future of Computing
Just how prepared are we for a world where computing moves "off our desk" into the wider environment around us? This seminar and discussion explored a world where computing is embedded, nomadic, and largely invisible. Video of the seminar is available here.
Synthetic Biology Newsletter 2.0
This July 2011 issue of Synthetic Biology 2.0 looks at the work of the United States Presidential Bioethics Commission, the dominant discourse in the synthetic biology debate, vaccines as the first commercial applicaiton of synthetic biology, do-it-yourself biology, biosecurity, and biofiction where science and arts meet.
New NIOSH Approaches to Safe Nanotechnology & Strategic Plan for Nanotechnology Research
According to Andrew Maynard, chief science advisor for the Wilson Center's Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, a project created in partnership with The Pew Charitable Trusts, the release of Approaches to Safe Nanotechnology: An Information Exchange with NIOSH and Strategic Plan for NIOSH Nanotechnology Research: Filling the Knowledge Gaps is a small but important step forward by the U.S. government to address the possible health implications of nanotechnology.
