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

SCU Raises Millions for its Tech Center

NEW MAGAZINE, WEB SITE UNVEILED

BY BECKY BARTINDALE
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.

``These are the kinds of conversations that form breakthroughs in thinking and collaboration,'' Koch said.

As with many start-ups, the center began with an idea that has been better defined over the years. Its location at a Jesuit university in Silicon Valley places it in a unique position ``for thinking seriously and more deeply about what technology is about,'' said James C. Morgan, chairman and CEO of Applied Materials. The company provided the challenge grant that has spurred the center's fundraising efforts.

At the center's core, said the Rev. Paul Locatelli, the university's president, is ``a real commitment to shaping society to become more humane and just.''

The work of the center will be opened to public view at its first national conference April 26. ``Technology and Us -- A Vision for the Future'' will bring together an array of thinkers including Xerox Corp. chief scientist John Seeley Brown, University of California-Berkeley sociology Professor Manuel Castells, venture capitalist William Davidow, technologist Douglas Engelbart, former presidential adviser Ira Magaziner, journalist David Halberstam and industry leaders such as Anita Borg, founder and president of the Institute for Women and Technology.

During its development, the center has sponsored research projects, developed course materials and launched a new minor at the university in information technology and society.

Its research has included studies of network society on the family, virtual teams in organizations and the use of mobile communication devices in Japan.

Contact Becky Bartindale at bbartindale@sjmercury.com or (408) 920-5459.