SFIS Newsletter – April 2021


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andrew maynard

New FRANKx Lecture Series to launch with Andrew Maynard talk

Arizona State University’s FRANKx Lecture Series aims to challenge the current constructs of higher education by bringing thought-provoking leaders from ASU to share their visionary ideas. The inaugural FRANKx lecture, “Bounded Infinities, Quantum Tunneling and the Future of Education,” featured Associate Dean and Professor Andrew Maynard. Drawing on his recent book “Future Rising” and building on concepts from bounded infinities and quantum tunneling to “base code” manipulation, Maynard explored the need to think beyond the bounds of convention as we reconsider and redefine our relationship with the future and what this means for higher education.

ASU Interplanetary Initiative launches new podcast partnership with Slate

The ASU Interplanetary Initiative has announced its partnership with Slate on a new podcast — “Mission: Interplanetary.” “Mission: Interplanetary” is a weekly podcast hosted by former NASA astronaut Cady Coleman and scientist and author Andrew Maynard. Each episode features the hosts engaging with experts about the big questions, challenges and mysteries humans face as we venture out to explore the solar system and beyond. 

Seeking a peaceful moon

Can lunar exploration be peaceful? It’s a subject worthy of being hashed out, a panel of experts thinks. Access, sustainability and resource management were all subjects covered at an expert panel discussion, which included Assistant Professor Timiebi Aganaba-Jeanty, sponsored by Arizona State University’s Interplanetary Initiative. The event was part of the Moon Dialogs, a series of lunar policy development workshops for subject matter experts in both space and terrestrial policy.

InnovationSpace builds cross-disciplinary connections that fuel creative collaborations

ASU’s InnovationSpace brings students together to take on challenges and seek solutions not simply as schoolwork assignments but in partnership with corporations, community organizations and university researchers. According to GTD student Tyler Eglen, who is working with engineering and chemistry students on a recycling project, the program prepares you for how problem-solving works in the real world.

How ‘food security’ is quickly becoming national security

The fight against food insecurity has grown in importance over the past decade, as a growing number of underserved communities are living in food deserts —  areas that have limited access to food that is both affordable and nutritious. Although the work being done to tackle food insecurity typically happens on a local level, food insecurity is a rising concern for the United States on a global scale. Professor Daniel Sarewitz hosted the webinar “What Does ‘Food Security’ Really Mean?” to discuss the weaknesses in our food supply systems and the future threats the country faces as we work to strengthen those systems.

Research

IGD student Eric Stribling published “Librarians of a Vampire: Fighting Against Hegel’s Dialectic Narrative of Colonialism and Slavery” in the SFRA Review, part of the Us in Flux edition. Stribling wrote about the fight against German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel’s narrative regarding slavery.

HSD student Rajiv Ghimire, along with Associate Professor Netra Chhetri and Energy Policy Research Aide and Chemical Engineering student Nathaniel Anbar, published “The Impact of Public Deliberation on Climate Change Opinions Among U.S. Citizens” in Frontiers in Political Science – Political Communication about whether American citizens are receptive to deliberation and what effect it had on their opinions.

FJ Gaylor shoot 2019. Photo taken on March 27, 2019 on ASU’s Tempe campus on A Mountain at sunset. Photos taken by FJ Gaylor.

MSTP student Francesca Lascala, HSD student Ben Gansky, Innovation in Society student Zach Appel, Sustainability students Grace LoganJordan KingTammy Nguyen and Kate Hartland, Engineering student Rebecca Dietz and Assistant Professors Lauren Keeler and Marta Berbés-Blázquez are working with the city of Tempe on its Climate Action Plan (CAP) 2021 update. As part of the graduate course “HSD 598 – Topic: Equity in Climate Action,” students are collaborating with the city to create engagement programs that will allow the city to receive feedback on climate change proposals. 

Assistant Professor Marta Berbes and Lecturer Mathieu Feagan have released a new peer-review article, “Mining, Colonial Legacies, and Neoliberalism: A Political Ecology of Health Knowledge,” based on a collaboration between Latin American and Canadian scholars and mining activists. The paper uses a “political ecology of knowledge” framework to trace the reach and impacts of corporate funding, specifically from mining companies, on academic knowledge production.  

Assistant Research Professor Michael Bernstein and colleagues have a new piece in Sustainability Science, “Creating leadership collectives for sustainability transformations,” advocating for academic organizations to reorient training programs, work ethics and rewards systems to encourage the development of what we frame as leadership collectives to support sustainability transformations.

Recognition

PIT student Shalin Jyotishi will serve as an inaugural member of the UN’s International Telecommunications Union (ITU)’s Generation Connect Visionaries Board, where he will offer strategic guidance to ITU on all youth-related work. Jyotishi is co-leading the new multi-million dollar Lumina Foundation-sponsored initiative, New Models for Career Preparation. Through the project, he will be advancing research, writing and policy advising to help college leaders, policymakers and employers empower workers to escape poverty via quality non-degree credential offerings from public community colleges and universities. 

IGD student Oluwabukola “Bukky” Makinde spoke at the “Creating Equal Opportunities for Women in Agriculture” panel on International Women’s Day following an invitation from the Nigerian non-profit FarmAgric Foundation for Agriculture

HSD student Gabriela Gonzalez was interviewed for the article “Building a Movement” in a recent Diversity in Action publication. Gonzalez discussed Million Girls Moonshot, a collaborative movement to engage more girls in STEM. 

HSD student Martin Perez Comisso participated in a panel organized by the Colombian Network of Science and Technology Studies about national research organizations in the field. His contributions were related to his experience in CTS-Chile and how researchers abroad can contribute to regional research and learning in their countries in science and technology studies. Perez Comisso also took over the IAmSciComm Twitter account, discussing various aspects of science and technology studies and technology policy. 

The recently published book “Cities of Light: A Collection of Solar Futures” features contributions and essays from several SFIS faculty and students, including HSD students Angel EchevarriaYiamar Rivera-Matos and Max Gabriele, Professor Clark Miller and Associate Professor Lauren Keeler. Miller was also a co-editor on the book, along with Center for Science and the Imagination (CSI) Editor and Program Manager Joey Eschrich.

The current issue of SFRA Review features an Us in Flux symposium section. The symposium, which was co-edited by Joey Eschrich and CSI Program Manager Bob Beard, focuses on the center’s Us in Flux project and features four pieces of short fiction, essays by scholars of speculative fiction, and a conclusion written by Associate Professor Ed Finn.

Professor of Practice Brian David Johnson joined the 2021 Virtual Winter Institute to discuss the futurecasting process, the future of bookselling and how booksellers can shape what happens next.

Assistant Professor Timiebi Aganaba-Jeanty participated in the 4th African Space Generation WorkshopIASC 2021 Commons in Space Virtual Conference2021 Arizona Women in Leadership Symposium, and gave the opening keynote address at the National Student Space Conference. She was also a guest on the Space Forward and Celestial Citizen podcasts and discussed space governance with the young writers of Black Girls Magazine.

Professor Katina Michael spoke at the Internet Association of Australia 2021 Technology Outlook and 2021 Women In Data Science Conference, gave a guest lecture for Toulouse Business School and participated in the “Interdisciplinary Thinkpiece Panel I” for Rutgers Center for Cognitive Science. Michael also hosted Human(e) Tech Design Studios and published “Smart Infrastructure and Technology Systems Ethics” in IEEE Transactions on Technology and Society. 

Professor of Practice Elisabeth Graffy gave recent presentations about two projects she leads. She discussed the Spirituality and Sustainability Initiative at the Conference on Religion, Ethics, and Science (CORES) and spoke about the SEEK Project (Sustainable Energy, Equity and Knowledge-sharing) Project at the Conference on Faith and Science (COFAS). The SEEK project was also an awardee of the National Community Solar Partnership’s Technical Assistance program, a funded effort of the Solar Energy Technologies Office that matches experts with innovative community solar projects to help them reach breakthroughs. 

The 2021 ASU Social Embeddedness Network Conference featured the session “Locally Sourced Engagement Menu: The Library and Community Guide to Citizen Science” from Professor of Practice Darlene Cavalier and Associate Liaison Librarian Dan Stanton. They discussed citizen science in libraries and their efforts to promote and support mutually beneficial citizen science collaborations in communities of any size.

Associate Research Professor Rae Ostman will be the keynote speaker at the workshop “Public Engagement with Science and Philosophy of Science,” organized by the University of Cincinnati Center for Public Engagement with Science, sponsored by the National Science Foundation. The workshop will bring together academics and practitioners to develop theoretical and practical resources for public outreach and engagement about science. It will take place on April 30, May 7 and May 14. Registration is free.

University Professor of Social Sciences Craig Calhoun joined the International Science Council’s Oversight Panel on long-term implications of COVID-19. Calhoun also gave the keynote address at the NYLON Three Cities Conference, participated in the Global Transformations: ASU-BİLGİ Talk Series “ Thoughts on Resilience of Societies: Social and Political Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic,” and presented the talk “Renewal and Remaking of Democracy” as part of the ASU Center on the Future of War Spring Speaker Series.  

SFIS Director Dave Guston joined The Rosenbach for the talk “Frankenstein: Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein, and the Creature in the Contemporary World.” Guston discussed the relevance of these characters in a contemporary world in which relations among gender, politics, science and ethics are as fraught as they ever have been.  

Professor of Practice and ASU-Leonardo Initiative Executive Director Diana Ayton-Shenker gave the concluding keynote “Unleashing Creative Superpowers with Art Science” at the Athens Science Festival. Her talk explored emerging and unexpected trends in arts, science and technology fueled by the global syndemic of cascading, interconnected crises.

Alumni

College of Global Futures – Alumni Interest Survey

Help us better support and engage our alumni and win some free swag! Please fill out this survey and let us know what opportunities and events you’re interested in. Three alumni who fill out the survey will be randomly chosen to receive a College of Global Futures T-shirt and an ASU drawstring backpack made from recycled materials. We appreciate your feedback.

Events

April 2 Building Solar Cities: Rethinking How Cities Get Their Power

April 7 Development Reimagined: Education and Livelihoods: COVID-19 and Communities at the Margin of Society 

April 9 The Distinguished Visiting Writers Series: An Evening with Claire Vaye Watkins

April 13 Life After Carbon: Imagining the City of the Future 

April 14 Digital Brown Bag: The Imagination Desk

April 20 Podcasts for Engaging with Non-Academic Audiences

April 23 College of Global Futures Student Showcase

April 23 SFIS School Awards

April 27 Sci-Fi TV Dinner Small Bites: The Mailbox (Online)

May 3 ASU Spring Commencement

Publications

Katina Michael 
Consumer Technology-Based Solutions for COVID-19
IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine
February 2, 2021
 
Eric Stribling
Librarians of a Vampire: Fighting Against Hegel’s Dialectic Narrative of Colonialism and Slavery
SFRA Review 
February 11, 2021
 
Michael Bernstein
Creating leadership collectives for sustainability transformations
Sustainability Science 
March 4, 2021
 
John Nelson
Can a Moonshot Fix Poverty After All?
Issues in Science and Technology
March 5, 2021

Katina Michael 
Smart Infrastructure and Technology Systems Ethics
IEEE Transactions on Technology and Society
March 9, 2021
 
Marta Berbes, Mathieu Feagan
Mining, Colonial Legacies, and Neoliberalism: A Political Ecology of Health Knowledge
New Solutions
March 11, 2021
 
Rajiv Ghimire, Nathaniel Anbar, Netra Chhetri 
The Impact of Public Deliberation on Climate Change Opinions Among U.S. Citizens
Frontiers in Political Science – Political Communication
March 12, 2021
 
Katina Michael 
Just How Much of Higher Education Can Be Automated?
Slate Future Tense
March 27, 2021

In the Media

Lauren Keeler, Marta Berbés-Blázquez, Jordan King, Francesca Lascala, Ben Gansky
Graduate students team up with city of Tempe on Climate Action Plan
The State Press
February 24, 2021
 
Brian David Johnson
Wi16 Keynote: Brian David Johnson on Futurecasting and Taking Action
American Booksellers Association
February 24, 2021
 
Faheem Hussain
‘Spooky’ AI tool brings dead relatives’ photos to life
Deccan Herald 
February 26, 2021
 
Clark Miller
As coal dies, the US has no plan to help the communities left behind
Grist
March 3, 2021
 
Diana Bowman
10 US cities paving the way for the future by investing in technology, sustainability, and infrastructure
Insider
March 4, 2021
 
Timiebi Aganaba-Jeanty
A Space for Humanity – Ethics and Governance for Living together in the Space Age
Space Forward Podcast
March 9, 2021
 
Timiebi Aganaba-Jeanty
Space Law: Entering the Space 5.0 Er‪a
Celestial Citizen
March 18, 2021
 
Andrew Maynard
Self-driving car bill heads for Ducey’s approval
12 News
March 19, 2021
 
Andrew Maynard
Interplanetary Initiative partners with Slate to launch podcast
The State Press
March 23, 2021
 
Clark Miller
Cities of Light: A discussion on the impact of a solar future
The State Press
March 23, 2021
 
Katina Michael 
South Australian government admits redirecting web users through Liberal Party domain
ABC News
March 29, 2021