The Ford School's Science, Technology, and Public Policy (STPP) program is expanding its efforts to connect scientific expertise to decision makers in Lansing by adding a second postgraduate position to its Michigan Science, Technology, and Public Policy (MiST) fellowship program. This new fellowship is supported by a generous grant from the Rita Allen Foundation as part of the Civic Science Fellows program.
Beginning this fall, the new MiST fellow will work with the Office of Agricultural Science and Research at the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD). The fellow will track key federal and state bills, hearings, and new developments; research and review literature and current landscape on topics central to the Department such as soil contaminants, water quality, PFAS monitoring, invasive species, and one health (the connections among human, animal, and environmental health); and draft memos, briefs, reports, and strategies intended for a non-technical audience. The fellow will also complete a capstone research project in collaboration with STPP faculty and staff.
"This fellowship will bring scientific expertise directly into state government, where it can inform decisions on complex and rapidly evolving agriculture and environmental issues," said Shobita Parthasarathy, director of STPP. "We are grateful to the Rita Allen Foundation for helping us strengthen Michigan's capacity for evidence-based policymaking while giving an emerging expert the opportunity to translate research into meaningful public service."
This is the second MiST fellowship administered by STPP. The other post-graduate fellow will focus on AI policy and governance at the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.
Read more about MiST in State & Hill here.
Read Rita Allen Foundation's announcement of 2026-2028 Civic Science Fellows here.
About the Michigan Science, Technology, and Public Policy (MiST) fellowship
Administered by the Ford School's Science, Technology, and Public Policy (STPP) Program in collaboration with Michigan State University and six other public PhD-granting institutions in the state, the MiST Fellowship connects post-graduate scientists, engineers, and technologists to nonpartisan legislative offices and state agencies in Lansing. Fellows will research requests from legislators about science and technology topics to produce policy briefs and reports that support decision makers. MiST is generously supported by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Rita Allen Foundation and other generous supporters.
About the Civic Science Fellows Program
The Civic Science Fellows program is building a network of leaders committed to ensuring that all people shape and benefit from science, technology, and innovation. The program brings together scientists, scholars, community leaders, journalists, educators, media producers, public-interest organizations, and funders to seed new collaborations between science, diverse communities, and civil society. Envisioned as a Civic Science Lab, Fellows and the organizations that host them carry out pioneering work to co-create pilots, partnerships, knowledge, models, and new ways of working. Fellows and partners engage as part of a network of learning and action that spans organizations, disciplines, and communities—a growing effort to catalyze civic science culture change.
About the Rita Allen Foundation
The Rita Allen Foundation invests in transformative ideas in their earliest stages to leverage their growth and promote breakthrough solutions to significant problems. The Foundation has a 50-year legacy of supporting early-career biomedical scholars conducting pioneering research to improve human health, including basic pain research with high potential to uncover new pathways for treating chronic pain. It is also developing new investments, research, and coalitions to strengthen civic science as a growing field of study and area of practice committed to ensuring that all people shape and benefit from science, technology, and innovation.
