Copies of the final reports of these projects are available in the EPP office. Several EPP undergraduates and CIT honors research students do undergraduate research with EPP faculty each semester. Because of the wide-ranging research areas in EPP, it is also possible for students who do not have an engineering background to do research in EPP in problems that involve technology and society. Undergraduate research projects in the past have included work in risk communication, comparative energy technologies, global climate change, nuclear waste disposal, pre-college education, technology transfer, science education, life cycle analysis, technical issues in arms control, and medical issues. This course examines the processes of public and private decision-making and of policy formation which shape the evolution of a technology and its impact on our society.
Technology plays an important role in shaping our worlds.
At the same time, social forces often play a central role in the evolution of a technology. A particular technology such as an automobile or a computer is chosen to study technology and policy in context. Specific topics covered in the case of the automobile include automotive design and manufacture, safety, pollution, fuel economy and their interactions. In each area, we discuss the technological and institutional issues, their interaction, the possible need for public policy and the factors that govern the policy. The course will involve several group problem solving sessions.