CU-Boulder approves CIRES Center for Science and Technology Policy Research
By Jason P. Smith, University of Colorado News Services
The staff of the new Science and Technology Policy Research Center on the porch of their Grandview location north of campus. |
Assisting decision makers with complex scientific problems, such as those involved with water scarcity, global climate change and homeland security, is the aim of a new research center at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
CIRES Center for Science and Technology Policy Research
[ About the Center ]
has been in development since the summer of 2001, and was officially approved by the university late August 2002. Comprised of six full-time staff members, 10 students-graduate and undergraduate-and several affiliated faculty members, the center is working on issues such as drought, global climate change, flood damage, technology transfer, and national security.
"Scientific research of great intellectual value is too often not very
usable by decision makers when they have to make choices that will have profound
impacts on our lives," said Roger Pielke Jr.,
the center's director and associate professor of environmental studies. "The
center hopes to address this need by producing useful information to assist
decision makers in both public and private settings and expand the choices
available to them."
The center serves as a focal point on the CU-Boulder campus and beyond for students, faculty, and researchers interested in connections between science and policy. It disseminates its research to decision makers in both public and private settings through a variety of avenues, including extensive use of the Internet, online newsletters, talks and presentations to decision makers.
In the last year, two staff members from the center testified before Congress, sharing their views on science and technology policy matters.
In March, Pielke testified before the Senate Committee on Environment and
Public Works. The subject of his testimony was the economic and environmental
risks associated with increasing greenhouse gas emissions. Visiting scholar
Radford Byerly testified before the House Science Committee in April on the
subject "New Directions for Climate Research and Technology Initiatives,"
"In order to make good policies, decision makers need to know the nature
of the problem, which is where we come in," said Bobbie Klein, managing director
of the center. "They also have to be aware of how effective the policies were
in the past."
Education is an essential part of the center's mission. The center hosts Global Climate Change and Society, a summer program sponsored by the National Science Foundation that incorporates students from various fields and educational institutions around the country. Participating students gather for eight weeks each summer to assess the power and limits of scientific knowledge for the resolution of societal problems.
The center places graduate students in internships and provides research opportunities for both graduates and undergraduates. And, the center is partnering with the Boulder Valley School District on the creation of an outdoor environmental science classroom at Flatirons Elementary School.
For more information about the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research visit sciencepolicy.colorado.edu.
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