Santa Clara University

Published Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2001, in the San Jose Mercury News

SCU announces funds for center to study society and technology

By the Mercury News

Santa Clara University's Center for Science, Technology and Society has raised nearly $4.3 million to support its mission exploring how science and technology can be used to solve complex social problems, university officials announced Tuesday.

The non-profit institution, which brings together leading thinkers, aspires to become a global center for dialogue about the effect of science and technology on work and organization, family life and culture and law and public policy.

Tuesday's public launch of the center, which was formed in 1997, included the debut of a new Web site (www.scu.edu/sts) and magazine, Nexus, which will publish semiannually. All articles in the magazine appear on the Web site.

One of the center's goals is to apply the resources of the university in a forward-looking way instead of always looking backward at how technology is affecting society, said Regis McKenna, chairman of its advisory board.

Director James Koch said plans for the center include developing a foundation for people to collaborate in new ways. It is a place where engineers, sociologists, lawyers, historians, business leaders, students and scholars can come together to exchange ideas about how society, technology and innovation influence society and culture.

The work of the center will be opened to public view at its first national conference April 26.