Shobita Parthasarathy

Core faculty

Shobita Parthasarathy

Professor of Public Policy; Director, Science, Technology, and Public Policy program

Parthasarathy studies the governance of emerging science and technology and the politics of evidence and expertise in policy in comparative and international perspective. Her current research focuses on equity in innovation and innovation policy. She co-hosts The Received Wisdom podcast.

Podcasts

From A.I. to zero emissions Ford School faculty host and are featured in a variety of podcasts, covering policy topics from artificial intelligence, everyday economics, national security, and more. My job has always been to demonstrate to...

State & Hill

Fall 2026 Faculty News

Oct 6, 2026

Faculty news state & hill fall 2026

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News

STPP adds second fellow to MiST Program through the Civic Science Fellowship Award

Sep 29, 2026

STPP 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.

News

Parthasarathy urges AI regulation

Sep 26, 2026

"The United States urgently needs to regulate AI, because of the risks the technology poses today, to privacy, civil liberties, equality, our health, environment and beyond," according to professor of public policy and director of the Science, Techno...

News

Parthasarathy among newest cohort of Michigan Society of Fellows

Sep 24, 2026

Shobita Parthasarathy has been named to the Michigan Society of Fellows for a term of four years.

Publication

Parthasarathy: Restoring trust in science requires public accountability, not greater industry control

Sep 18, 2026

In her fourth Expert Voices column for Science, Shobita Parthasarathy, Ford School professor of public policy and director of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy (STPP) program, discusses the Trump administration's new science policy strategy,...

News

Two U-M students awarded social science research fellowships

Sep 3, 2026

This year, two of the three graduate research fellowships awarded by the Social Science Research Council hailed from the University of Michigan.

(Left to right) Fadilat Olasupo and Margarita Maria Rodriguez Morales.

In the Media

Parthasarathy: Opposition to data centers is accelerating as an election issue

Aug 28, 2026 Gray Broadcasting

Concern about data centers are a proxy for broader concerns about artificial intelligence and inequality and that the issue may drive some voters to the polls, according to Ford School professor Shobita Parthasarathy.

News

Shobita Parthasarathy named president-elect of Society for Social Studies of Science

Jul 31, 2026

Shobita Parthasarathy has been elected incoming president-elect of the Society for Social Studies of Science, an international nonprofit association for researchers in science and technology studies.

News

Parthasarathy comments on new White House science report

Jul 24, 2026

Shobita Parthasarathy comments on a new White House report that calls for academic research dollars to go to tech and artificial intelligence companies despite the public's distrust.

In the Media

Administration rules on research put innovation at risk - Parthasarathy

Jun 12, 2026 Bloomberg

The Trump administration is pushing changes to rules that govern how federal agencies distribute funding, which could permanently politicize research in the US.

Publication

Parthasarathy proposes people-first technology regulation

May 21, 2026

Shobita Parthasarathy publishes her third column in Science, “'Sacrifice subjects' and a proposal for people-first technology regulation."

A person gesturing while speaking at a podium in front of a blackboard, in a lecture hall.

State & Hill

Faculty news, spring 2026

May 7, 2026

Ford School experts are publishing research, sharing their knowledge, and getting recognized.

A series of six headshots of people smiling

News

U-M experts explore benefits, harms of AI for people with developmental disabilities

Apr 20, 2026

STPP's new project will explore the potential benefits and harms of AI in supporting people with developmental disabilities, their families, and direct-care workers.

News

Innovation as a force for equity

Mar 27, 2026

In an essay published in Issues in Science and Technology, Shobita Parthasarathy on the current lack of equity in science and innovation and argues that, to change this, "society needs to think differently about expertise, innovation itself, and syst...

News

Shobita Parthasarathy on how to repair trust in science

Jan 26, 2026

In her second column for Science Magazine, Ford School Professor Shobita Parthasarathy argues that rather than treating the growing crisis of public trust as an information and communication problem, we should treat it as an innovation and expertise ...

State & Hill

Faculty news, fall 2025

Dec 8, 2025

Ford School experts are publishing research, sharing their knowledge, and getting recognized.

Headshots of Javed Ali, Bill Axinn, Samuel Bagenstos, Jenna Bednar, Elizabeth Gerber, Devin Judge-Lord, Alexander Ralph, Fabiana Silva, Alton Worthington, and Dean Yang.

Publication

New nuclear requires strong governance to avoid making old mistakes

Dec 1, 2025

University of Michigan researchers call for policies to ensure that small modular reactors serve the public interest without creating and worsening familiar problems.

Nuclear power plant with four steam-emitting cooling towers located in a green landscape with a winding road.

Publication

Shobita Parthasarathy’s “Expert Voices” column in Science: Beware the drive to scale technology

Sep 19, 2025

Ford School Professor Shobita Parthasarathy has been invited to serve as an “Expert Voices” columnist for Science over the next two years. Read her inaugural column, “Beware the drive to scale technology.”

News

Prestigious National Academies committee appoints Parthasarathy

Jul 25, 2025

Ford School professor Shobita Parthasarathy has been appointed to the Standing Committee on Advancing Science Communication, a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) committee that was established in 2016 to advance ethical...

News

Podcast: U-M experts explore AI and the responsibility of its creators in building, guiding it toward best uses

May 30, 2025

Artificial intelligence is often debated in terms of being a cure-all or chaos agent, as if independent of its human creators. Neither is the case, nor should we forget who makes it and why, and how it should serve humanity. Shobita Parthasarathy dis...

News

Parthasarathy on the intersection of technology, feminism, colonialism, and social justice

May 13, 2025

Kirti Jayakumar, from the India-based Gender Security Project, interviewed Shobita Parthasarathy about her journey into science policy, her research in India, using a social justice perspective to advance technology, and the role of law and policy. B...

State & Hill

A pile of parts: Ethical STEM training prepares students for the big picture

May 8, 2025

Have you ever disassembled a broken coffee maker or a sink, convinced you could fix it, only to end up with a jumble of parts? As a child, Terry Nguyen’s (BA ’25) curiosity about how things worked led to a broken fan, a pile of parts, and no idea how...

State & Hill

Faculty news, spring 2025

May 7, 2025

Read about the latest faculty accomplishments and news.

Headshots of faculty featured within this article.

News

Shobita Parthasarathy selected as an Institute for Advanced Study Scholar

Apr 7, 2025

In an era of rapid technological advancement, ensuring that innovation benefits everyone is urgent. Shobita Parthasarathy, professor and director of the Ford School’s Science, Technology, and Public Policy program, studies how technological innovatio...

Publication

U-M study highlights urgent need to train students about the ethical, social, and policy dimensions of STEM

Apr 2, 2025

Advances in fields like artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and data science are rapidly shaping society and raising significant ethical and policy questions. The dizzying pace of development also highlights the need for academic programs that pr...

In the Media

Parthasarathy on AI running the government

Mar 13, 2025 Al Jazeera

Shobita Parthasarathy, Ford School professor, says "These workers have real expertise and a nuanced understanding of the issues, which AI does not. AI does not, in fact, ‘understand’ anything." So, she says, “It’s a very bad idea" to use AI to run t...

News

Parthasarathy speaks at AAAS Annual meeting about Asilomar’s legacy

Feb 27, 2025

Shobita Parthasarathy spoke at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting in a session titled, “Revisiting Asilomar Fifty Years Later: Who is in the room when we talk about AI?” While Asilomar is often praised for d...

In the Media

Scientists meet for the 50 year anniversary of genetic science conference - Parthasarathy

Feb 21, 2025 BBC

Last weekend, a scientific ethics conference was held in Asilomar, California, to recreate the meeting that occurred there 50 years prior. Half a century ago, scientists met to establish guidelines for the future and practice of genetic science. The ...