Dalton G
- Research Program Mentor
PhD at North Carolina State University
Expertise
Survey and interview research methods; Archival research methods; Science Communication; Public Engagement with ScienceSocial, ethical, and policy issues with biotechnology (Agricultural, medical, or environmental); Socio-economic impacts of biotechnology; Environmental impacts of biotechnology; Applications of synthetic biology and bioengineering; Public and stakeholder perceptions on emerging technology; Projects investigating applications and/or impacts of environmental policy; Environmental ethics and politics; Bioethics and biotechnology policy; Social and ethical challenges of sustainability; Sustainability politics; Socio-economic impacts of sustainability innovation (e.g. renewable energy; carbon capture); Sociology of science and innovation; Philosophy of science and innovation; History of science and innovation;
Bio
My research talents are in archival and survey-based research. I a specialize in both qualitative and quantitative analysis of survey, interview, and observational data. My academic passion is investigating research questions on interactions between science, technology, and society. This means taking a close look at the ways science and innovation affect - and are affected by - the people who create, govern, and use them. Ethics, governance and policy-making are the biggest impact areas for my work, but I also put a lot of time and effort into building "interdisciplinary" education and research capacity. This means I spend a lot of time working with and learning from people who have very different backgrounds and knowledge bases than myself. Outside of the research world, my absolute favorite place to be is outdoors. I am an avid hiker, cyclist, disc golfer, volleyball player, fisherman, really any activity that gets me outdoors and moving! I also am a pretty decent musician, with skills in guitar/bass, percussion, and passable keyboard talents. On the weekend, you may also find me enjoying live performances of music, theater, or just at the park playing chess, backgammon, or reading a good novel.Project ideas
Studying the impacts of technology on local communities
Culture and technology are intertwined. Almost everything we do in our homes, schools, and communities revolves on the usage of some sort of technological object. In this project, I want you to select a type of technology, and investigate its role and usage within your community. By using survey and interview methods, investigate the different tasks that different people perform with this technology and what impact that has on their lives. Going deeper, I want you to ask about their perspectives on their own usage of this technology, and discover what meaning this technology has towards the culture, identities, and livelihoods of the people you are learning from. From there, lets also engage in some archival research methods to discover what kinds of social, economic, and environmental impacts this technology has had on society more generally, and compare that back to your study community. By comparing your local research to broader trends, we can generate insights on how this technology may impact the community moving forward, whether its for better or for worse.
Public perceptions and communication on controversial science & technology
Science and technology can create controversy in the public sphere, dividing dinner tables and whole communities on how different technologies should be used - or not used - in day to day life. In this project, the objective is to create educational materials designed to communicate with a chosen public audience on a controversial topic in science or technology. First, you will choose a topic of choice, preferably one that has some visibility and significance as an issue in the public sphere (vaccines; climate change; pollution; artificial intelligence; etc). You will then use survey and interview methods with a chosen public audience - maybe they are people who go to your school, live in your neighborhood, etc - , and ask them about their perspectives on scientific subject that you have chosen. By analyzing this data, you should build a robust understanding of how your chosen community thinks about the topic of choice. You will then use these insights to generate some effective means of communication on the topic of choice. The goal is not to necessarily convince people one way or the other, but to learn how to tailor science communication towards a public audiences values, interests, languages, cultural knowledge, ideologies, etc. Outcomes of this project can include a diverse array of outputs, such as a combination of educational videos, podcasts, short articles, blogs, artwork, or even songs and poetry. The most important thing is that your combination of materials reflect an effective communication approach for your audience.