By Kyra Arnett, HCDE PhD student
I attended the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) meeting in September. It was my first time attending 4S, and my first experience attending a conference as a PhD student.
I presented a paper titled “Security through Openness: Tracing the Development of “Fundamental Research” that I developed with my advisor, David Ribes as part of a panel on research security policy in the US and globally. In the presentation, we traced the development of the US regulatory category, “fundamental research” and its relationship to a third, never quite realized category, historically called “sensitive but unclassified” and today referred to as “controlled unclassified information.” This is relatively new work that I had the opportunity to present and get feedback on, while also meeting others who are working on and thinking about related topics.
My attendance at the conference also allowed me to gain exposure to the different kinds of research occurring within the field of science and technology studies (STS). Some of it was similar to work that my colleagues at the UW do, but some was quite different. The conference was particularly helpful for me because it enabled me to attend panels on the relationship between policy, governance and STS, which is a new direction that I have found my research headed in and not an area that my mentors at UW have as much experience with.
In addition to the formal panels, attendance at 4S created opportunities to meet and talk with scholars whose work I admire and have learned from. I was able to make connections that I expect to continue to support my research in the coming year and beyond.
Give to support HCDE student travel
The Mary B. Coney Endowed Fund, named in honor of Emeritus Professor Mary Coney, supports HCDE students by funding costs associated with travel to conferences and international workshops. Your support of this fund enriches the HCDE student experience and enhances HCDE's influence in the field.