The Program in Science, Technology and Society

September 19, 2017

Alumni Newsletter

A Note from the STS Director

I want to welcome Stanford’s Science,Technology, and Society alumni to the opening of our 46th academic year on this campus. The STS alumni body now encompasses multiple generations of Stanford graduates, with an additional 76 students joining your ranks following last spring’s 2017 commencement. Your presence and contributions to society through a wide variety of workplace sectors continues to attract and inspire our current students. It continues to make for fascinating alumni panels and dinners for our current students, which we have expanded to two a year and from which students gain much advantage.

Among the exciting developments for this coming year, I’d like to welcome our new Program Manager Ipshita SenBasu, who joins us from the Psychology Department, and will be working with Student Services Officer Sierra Vallin and Program Associate Emily Van Poetsch. (Stephany Prince, who did such a great job in this position for a number of years, has headed over to Medicine). Among the changes to our program this year is Emily’s superb design for our new website that will greatly assist students with course selection and otherwise finding their way within our program. There’s even a page for Alumni.

In an second exciting development, I’d also like to welcome Paul N. Edwards, William J. Perry Fellow in International Security, to Stanford where he will be working with both the STS program and the Center for International Security and Cooperation. Paul is among the most celebrated STS scholars in the country and we’re delighted to have him as a member of our teaching faculty, along with the program’s Associate Director Kyoko Sato and our Writing Specialist and Lecturer Kevin DiPirro.

Another feature of the upcoming year is the continuation of Dr. Sato’s international collaboration with Université Paris Descartes and Université Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne on the project “Nuclear Governance after Hiroshima: Atoms for War and Peace in Japan, France, and the United States 1945-1970.” Funded by the France-Stanford Center for Interdisciplinary Studies and the Partner University Fund of FACE (French-American Cultural Exchange) Foundation, this year’s activities include Dr. Sato’s curation and design of a marvelous new exhibition “In/Visible: Nuclear Representation in Japan from Hiroshima to Fukushima,” which recently completed a very successful run at the Lathrop Library at Stanford over the spring and summer quarters.

Do stay tuned for other events for alumni over the course of the year, and never hesitate in reaching out to us, to learn about events, add an update to our Classnotes, or have a look at the STS research students are publishing in the STS Intersect Journal. As you might imagine, we’re looking forward to another great year in the program that you helped make through your interest, which we passionately share, in science, technology, and society.

John Willinsky

Khosla Family Professor of Education

Director of the Program in Science, Technology and Society

STS by the Numbers

Faculty & Staff Updates

Paul N. Edwards

Welcome, Paul N. Edwards

Paul N. Edwards, William J. Perry Fellow in International Security, joins STS and CISAC to share his expertise on science, technology, and the politics of knowledge and information infrastructures, with a specific focus on climate science and climate change. He joins us from the University of Michigan for a five year appointment.

Ipshita SenBasu

Ipshita SenBasu, new STS Program Manager

Ipshita SenBasu joined the STS team in May 2017. She has a strong background in student services, having worked with graduates, undergraduates and the post doc population. Her prior jobs were at the department of Psychology, the Program in International Relations, and the Slavic department. She is an active member of the Stanford community and serves as a panelist in the Stanford Judicial Affairs Hearing committee. Ipshita is also a Pre-major advisor for the VPUE. She finds student interactions the most rewarding part of her student services role. Ipshita enjoys traveling, reading, and playing with the pottery wheel, during her leisure time. We are very fortunate to have her!

Awards

Zabreen Akhtar Khan

Brian Wei

Sophia Laurenzi

Robert McGinn Award Winner - Zabreen Akhtar Khan

Zabreen received this award in recognition of her outstanding academic acheivement towards a B.A. degree in the STS Program. She completed her degree in Innovation, Technology & Organizations and starts her position as part of Facebook’s Business Development Team later this year. She also published an honors thesis titled, "Integrating Gender Equality into an Improved Model of Technology-Based National Development: A Critical Exploration of Internet Diffusion in Pakistan"

Walter Vincenti Award Winner - Brian Wei

Brian received this award in recognition of his outstanding academic acheivement towards a B.S. degree in the STS Program. He completed his degree with a concentration in Life Sciences & Biotechnology. Brian will soon be attending Yale School of Medicine to pursue his goal of becoming a physician.

Firestone Medal Award Winner - Sophia Laurenzi

Sophia won a Firestone medal for her honors thesis about why age eighteen is still the hard-line boundary for criminal responsibility when we have so much neuroscience research that shows young adults are still developing. She further addresses why the science not merged with the law in this respect. Read her thesis titled “The Gray Matter of Young Adulthood: Neuroscience, Social Trends, and Justice Reform” . Sophia was advised by Professor Angela Garcia.

Nuclear Governance after Hiroshima: Atoms for War and Peace in Japan, France, and the United States 1945-1970.

Exhibit Opening led by Dr. Kyoko Sato

STS Associate Director, Kyoko Sato, hosted a very successful conference, workshop, and exhibit this year. The events addressed how the world experienced and responded to the 1945 atomic bombings, what Hiroshima came to symbolize for the global policy frameworks of nuclear technology, how the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki reconciled with the later development of nuclear weapons, and beyond.

Dr. Sato’s international collaboration with Université Paris Descartes and Université Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne continues for another two years, as they delve deeper into nuclear governance after Hiroshima.

Upcoming Alumni Events

STS/VTSS Program Reunion

Get your weekend started off right with the STS/VTSS Program Reunion! Catch up with fellow alumni during Stanford's Homecoming Weekend while enjoying some wine and cheese.

Friday, October 13, 2017 | 5:00PM-6:00PM | Building 200, Room 017

Alumni Dessert Soirée

Join us for some top notch desserts and learn more about what the Program in Science, Technology and Society is working on. We will also celebrate our Alumni of the Year during this special event.

Friday, March 9, 2018 | 6:00PM-8:00PM | Location to be announced

Winter & Spring Alumni Panels

The Alumni Panel events are a great chance to give back to the STS comminuty by sharing your experience as an alumni with current STS students. The panel highlights alumni from different fields of work in different stages of their careers, and is followed by a Q&A session detailing your field of work, tips and tricks for seeking a job, career advice etc. Please contact Sierra Vallin (svallin@stanford.edu), if you would like to participate in either one of the Alumni Panels, to help the future generation of Sciene, Technology, and Society!

A special thanks to last years panel participants for sharing your wisdom!

Thursday, November 9, 2017 | 6:00PM-8:30PM | Location to be announced

Thursday, February 22, 2018 | 6:00PM-8:30PM | Location to be announced

Connect With Us

If you're not already a member of our LinkedIn group, please take a moment to visit our Stanford STS LinkedIn Group and request membership. Many of our majors use our group to find out what career paths our Alums have taken.

Connect with us on Facebook to find out about STS events and highlights throughout the year.

Do you have a job or internship opportunity you would like to share with STS majors? Please contact Emily Van Poetsch (emilyvp@stanford.edu) giving us a brief explanation of the opportunity and we will include it in our weekly STS Wire e-newsletter.

sts.stanford.edu

emilyvp@stanford.edu

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