The community of scholars at MIT’s Program in Science, Technology and Society bring methods from the humanities and social sciences to understanding science, technology, and medicine around the world. Our department includes lively undergraduate and graduate programs, and postgraduate training for science and technology journalists.
By bridging humanities, social sciences, science, technology, and medicine, our department seeks to build relationships among colleagues across the Institute in a shared effort to understand the human challenges at the core of the MIT mission.
What is STS?Arthur Miller Lecture on Science and Ethics
Morison Prize and Lecture in Science, Technology, and Society
IN REMEMBRANCE
Loren R. Graham, MIT STS Program Professor Emeritus, died on December 15, 2024.
READ MORE
MIT News: Remembering Loren Graham
Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies: A Tribute to Loren Graham
*****
Kenneth Keniston, Founder, MIT’s Program in Science, Technology, and Society, died on February 14, 2020.
READ MORE: Remembering Kenneth Keniston
STS in the News
STS In The News
Faculty & Student Mentions, News
Professor Robin Scheffler in MIT News – Beneath the Biotech Boom
Apr 16, 2025
Op-Eds, Faculty & Student Mentions, News
Mohamed Suufi on His STS Minor – Seeking the World Through a Different Lens
Apr 14, 2025
Op-Eds, Faculty & Student Mentions, News
Lasya Balachandran on Her STS Minor – Contextualizing the Development of Future Technologies for the Improvement of Society
Apr 14, 2025
Undark Magazine
Truth, Beauty, Science.
Come-Gimme! Why Do We Shrug When Apes Cross the Language Barrier?
April 18, 2025, 7:46 am / by Michael Erard
In the Northeast, a Question of Fighting Fire With Fire
April 16, 2025, 7:32 am / by Peter Andrey Smith
EPA Plans to Stop Collecting Emissions Data From Most Polluters
April 15, 2025, 7:21 am / by Sharon Lerner
STS EVENTS
A Special Lecture Series Presented by the MIT Program in Science, Technology, and Society and the Knight Science Journalism Program
Join us on Monday, April 7th, from 5:15-6:45 pm in E51-145 for a special talk by Ashley Smart
The Stories We Could Tell: Science Journalism in a Time of Change
What role should science journalists play in restoring public trust in journalism and science? How should reporters approach complicated issues that pit science against personal values? How should we think about what is at stake — and for whom — in the stories we tell about science? In this talk, Ashley will discuss how his own experiences as a reporter, editor, and associate program director have shaped the way he thinks about these questions — and why science journalists must grapple with them if they are to navigate the precarious road ahead.
About Ashley Smart
Ashley Smart is an award-winning journalist who serves as the associate director of the Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT and as a senior editor at Undark magazine. He also teaches in MIT’s Graduate Program in Science Writing and was co-editor of “A Tactical Guide to Science Journalism: Lessons From the Frontlines.” He previously worked as an editor and reporter at Physics Today magazine, and in 2015-16 he was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT. He serves on the boards of the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing and The Open Notebook.
To Attend the Lecture
Please fill out this RSVP form if you plan to attend in-person. The talk is free and open to all members of the MIT community. We hope to see you there!
Breaking News
12/18/2020: Digging Deep into North American Metals Mining
2/2/2021:Rare Earths for the Common People
2/10/2021: Not All Farming Happens on a Farm
STS EVENTS
Who Tells the Story of Science? The Power and Peril of Science and Technology Journalism in 2025
A Special Lecture Series Presented by the MIT Program in Science, Technology, and Society and the Knight Science Journalism Program
Science and technology journalism faces a pivotal moment. Our most pressing challenges—climate crisis, global pandemics, the transformative potential of artificial intelligence—demand vigorous, deeply-informed, and thoughtful coverage by independent journalists. As questions about science, technology, health, and the environment become ever more central to our political lives across many scales, from local to national to global, science and technology journalism is pivotal to safeguarding the democratic process. Science and technology journalists must balance multiple, often competing, imperatives: to translate and explain hard-won scientific knowledge, while also holding scientific institutions to account; to report on the social effects of technological change, while subjecting claims of technological hype (and doom) up to independent scrutiny. They must do so at a time when seismic shifts in the media landscape, from the rise of social media to the hollowing out of newsrooms, have created new threats (and perhaps opportunities) for the journalistic enterprise. This lecture series brings together four visionary leaders in the field to reflect on the state of science and technology journalism today—and to chart a path for its future.
All talks will take place from 5:15 to 6:45 pm ET and are open to members of the MIT community.
Wednesday, March 19: Bina Venkataraman, Editor-at-large for Strategy and Innovation, The Washington Post
Location: E51-395
Monday, March 31: Hillary Rosner, Assistant Director, Center for Environmental Journalism, University of Colorado-Boulder
Location: E51-145
Wednesday, April 2: Usha Lee McFarling, National Correspondent, STAT
Location: E51-145
Monday, April 7: Ashley Smart, Associate Director, Knight Science Journalism Program, MIT
Location: E51-145
Faculty Spotlight: David A. Mindell
David A. Mindell, PhD, is Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and Dibner Professor of the History of Engineering and Manufacturing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. David has spent twenty-five years researching the myriad relationships between people and machines. He served as an MIT department head for five years, and has led or contributed to more than 25 oceanographic expeditions.