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VOLUME 8  | SEPTEMBER 2024

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Each month, the PIT UNiverse bring
s you news and events from across the universe of public interest technology, along with case studies, expert opinions and Q&A's on special topics.

Teams of faculty and students at U Michigan conduct interdisciplinary research to identify the climate impacts of emerging technologies and inform decision-makers about how to minimize harms and maximize benefits.

Read the how and why of interdisciplinary research, and how you can apply these methods in your own research.

"Public universities serve as incubators for innovative ideas that prioritize social impact and play a crucial role in shaping a technology sector that serves all communities."

Learn why SJSU is partnering with the 2024 PIT-UN Summit and what you can expect from our marquee annual event.

 
Register to attend the PIT-UN Summit 2024 virtually. Join our live stream for two days of dynamic, interactive keynotes, panels and presentations, plus exclusive content from the PIT-UN Summit Live! studio.
 
Each month, we feature an organization from our orbit of the PIT universe doing groundbreaking work and offering unique opportunities for PIT practitioners.
Climate Change AI (CCAI) is a nonprofit startup that empowers a global community of innovators, practitioners, and decision-makers to accelerate responsible climate action through the use of artificial intelligence. Through workshops, a summer school, and innovation grants, they provide expert-driven thought leadership and build a global community bridging the academic, private, and public sectors.
CCAI’s 2024 Innovation Grants Call for Proposals is now open and offers up to $150,000 per project for initiatives at the intersection of climate change and machine learning, with a total of $1.4 million available. Learn more & apply by Sept. 15.
Open Source Investigations on Environmental Harms
Indigenous communities are often at the forefront of efforts to defend land and water from environmental harms. With support from a 2023 Network Challenge grant, the University of California Digital Investigations Network worked with the nonprofit Cultural Survival to conduct an open source investigation (OSI) into the deaths of 13 murdered Indigenous land defenders in Brazil. In addition to a report on the murders, they produced a report to help researchers, advocates, and support groups understand OSI tools and how the method can be used in environmental harm research, advocacy, and litigation. Read the report (both reports are also available in Portuguese and Spanish).

Co-founded by Sylvanna Falcón (UC Santa Cruz), Alexa Koenig (UC Berkeley), and Jess Peake (UCLA), the UC Network trains and mentors students in human rights investigations, researching and documenting grave social injustices using freely available information online and drawing from students’ interdisciplinary training in the humanities, humanistic social sciences, journalism, and the law.

PIT and Tribal Energy Sovereignty
As sovereign nations, Indigenous tribes in the U.S. have the right to make decisions about resource extraction and energy use on their lands. Their energy sovereignty, however, is often compromised by challenging relationships with state and federal governments and with private interests seeking to exploit tribal resources.

With support from a 2022 Network Challenge grant,
Nathan Williams (Rochester Institute of Technology) worked with collaborators from Navajo Technical University and several other partners to host a Tribal Energy Sovereignty workshop. Leaders from Tribal Colleges and Universities, non-tribal research institutions and other stakeholders gathered in March 2024 to "craft a convergent research and workforce development agenda to support clean energy transitions in Tribal communities." Read the workshop summary white paper here.

PIT & Climate Learning Modules
Creating and sharing high-quality learning materials is a central purpose of PIT-UN. Gala is an interactive case study platform developed by Rebecca Hardin (University of Michigan) and a team of technologists and researchers from UM’s School for Environment and Sustainability.

The platform features case studies from a wide range of open source libraries in biology and conservation, forestry, urban sustainability, and other fields and encourages prototyping and iterative improvement. Check out Hardin’s module on municipal drinking water (developed with support from a 2021 Network Challenge grant) and the full Gala library.

2024 PIT Career Fairs are underway! University of Virginia hosted one on Sept. 3, and up next is the University of Texas at Austin (Sept. 24) and Carnegie Mellon University (Oct. 1 virtual, Oct. 18 in Washington, D.C.). See all the dates & connect with career services staff here.

Three PIT-UN members from career services will present at the 2024 Grace Hopper Celebration on Fri, Oct. 11 about best practices for engaging students interested in PIT and opportunities to break into the field. Join Diane Taylor (Carnegie Mellon), Bobbi Makani (San José State University), Jennifer Furlong (City University of New York), Laura Bingham (Temple), and moderator Nia Brazzell, PIT-UN Student Network Coordinator, in Philadelphia or virtually. Learn more & register.

Missouri Institute of Science & Technology has two exciting events coming up: the Rural Infrastructure Challenge Summit on energy resilience tomorrow, Sept. 13, and the Symposium on Bridging Disparities in Health Care Using Artificial Intelligence on Nov. 22 in St. Louis. You can submit an abstract for the health care symposium by Sept. 15. Registration is free.

The Science and Technology Studies (STS) Teachbook Editorial Collective is calling for learning activity "recipes" (less than 1,000 words each) for a handbook on STS-infused critical pedagogy practices. Send proposals for recipes by filling out the form linked below by Sept. 20 (extended from Sept. 9). Emily York (James Madison) and her co-editors encourage submissions from teacher-scholars whose teaching primarily serves undergraduates, regardless of discipline or class size, and from teacher-scholars located in minority-serving institutions and outside of the Global North. Learn more & submit.

The 2025 #ShareTheMicInCyber Fellowship at New America is taking applications until Sept. 30, 2024. This fellowship provides an opportunity for mid-career cybersecurity professionals from diverse backgrounds to conduct independent policy research and analysis, find solutions for critical cybersecurity issues, and explore questions of diversity and the human side of cybersecurity. Learn more & apply.

The 2025 Govern For America Fellowship Application will open on Nov. 1, 2024. This is a two-year paid opportunity for recent graduates to serve in high-impact roles in governments across the country as part of a diverse community of engaged leaders. Learn more & start preparing your application.

West Virginia University’s PIT-UN Empower Program hosted 22 high school students from across West Virginia July 15 – 19, 2024. With the Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA) the Bridge Initiative for Science and Technology, students had field trips to wastewater and drinking water sites, sampled for PFAS "forever chemicals" in surface water, and visited a dam. Each student conducted a policy analysis that looked at different ways to respond to a water-related challenge in their community and presented a one-minute policy pitch. The next step is for them to make this pitch to their home communities in the fall.

The PIT Northeast Regional Hub hosted the Impact Technology Fellowship this summer for 21 undergraduate students interested in civic technology. Students from Boston University, Olin College, Tufts University, and UMass Amherst worked full time for six weeks on PIT projects under the guidance of mentors and advisers from academia, the private sector, and government who provided technical and subject matter expertise. Read the report.

A new piece from David H. Guston (Arizona State) explores the idea of impact in science and technology: "how we imagine it happens, and what we as scholars might do individually and collectively to work toward it." Read "What We Talk About When We Talk About Impact."

Interested in writing for this newsletter, or having your program featured?

We're currently seeking writers and projects to feature for...
  • October: Civic Engagement, Elections & Student Work (submissions due Sep 19)

Fill out this form, and we'll be in touch.

-Andreen & the PIT-UN Team
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