Faculty from the Ford School and around the University joined an expert roundtable with Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) on Wednesday. Sen. Peters called on faculty to provide insight into some of the rapidly-moving emerging technologies that intersect with the policy issues facing the Senate committees he sits on, including Armed Services and Commerce, Science & Transportation.
Showcasing the breadth of expertise at the Ford School and across the University, the roundtable included faculty who study artificial intelligence, automation and robotics, the ethical and social dimensions of science, cybersecurity, information, transportation, and other topics.
Led by Dean Michael Barr, each expert detailed the exploration and findings of their research and applied it to questions about the implementation and ethics of disruptive technologies, how these technologies will impact the workforce, and the promise and challenges the technologies present within the U.S. and in a global context.
The conversation, co-hosted by the Program in Practical Policy Engagement, highlighted how faculty at Michigan are working together across disciplinary lines to grapple with and solve real-world policy problems.
The following professors participated in the roundtable with Senator Peters:
- Ella Atkins, Professor of Aerospace Engineering and Professor of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, College of Engineering
- Robert Axelrod, Mary Ann and Charles R. Walgreen, Jr. Professor for the Study of Human Understanding, Professor of Public Policy, Professor of Political Science.
- Michael Barr, Joan and Sanford Weill Dean of Public Policy, Frank Murphy Collegiate Professor of Public Policy, Roy F. and Jean Humphrey Proffitt Professor of Law
- Michael Drake, Senior Director of Research Relations, College of Engineering
- Robert Hampshire, Associate Professor of Public Policy, Ford School & Research Assistant Professor, University-Michigan Transportation Research Institute
- Sridhar Kota, Herrick Professor of Engineering and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering
- Brendan Nyhan, Professor of Public Policy, Ford School of Public Policy
- Jason Owen-Smith, Barger Leadership Institute Professor of Organizational Studies and a professor of sociology and a research professor in the Institute for Social Research
- Shobita Parthasarathy, Professor of Public Policy and Women's Studies, Director of the University of Michigan Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program
- Christian Sandvig, Professor of Information, School of Information
- Michael Wellman, Lynn A. Conway Collegiate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, College of Engineering