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University of Oklahoma |
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Professor Mark Meo, Director |
The Science and Public Policy Program was established in 1970 as a
center for interdisciplinary, policy-oriented research on issues involving
science and technology and their effect on society. The program has
dual roles of contributing to the policymaking process and responding
to the intellectual challenge of understanding the relationship among
science, technology, and society. Since its inception, the Program has
focused primarily on policy issues related to energy, the environment,
natural resources, and the use of scientific and technical information
in the policy process. The interdisciplinary team approach to research
used by the Program is designed to take advantage of the individual
and collective knowledge of its members. Although the make-up of the
team varies from project to project, the Program has a core faculty
whose members hold joint appointments as research fellows and professors
who teach in a variety of academic departments. Faculty associates and
graduate students from across the university are appointed to the Program
as needed to foster research and work on specific research projects.
The Science and Public Policy Program is not a degree-granting unit. Students
working for the Program are enrolled in masters and doctoral programs
in various departments. The Program is primarily research-oriented;
students pursuing degrees at the University are supported by the Program
as graduate assistants and are able to focus their research on science
and policy issues.
Students must meet the requirements of the departments that administer their
degree programs.
From four to ten graduate research assistants are supported by the Program
at any given time. These students are recruited from a wide range of
disciplines, including: aerospace and mechanical engineering, anthropology,
chemical engineering, civil engineering, environmental science, geography,
landscape architecture, political science, public administration, and
regional and city planning. Students frequently write theses and dissertations
based on research that is part of a Program project.
The Program typically operates with three full-time, tenure-track or
tenured faculty and as many as four faculty associates who receive support
to work on specific research projects. The budget lines for the core
faculty reside with the Program, and faculty members have joint appointments
with their respective academic departments. Faculty members teach in
their departments (one course per semester), serve on and direct student
committees, and participate fully in other departmental activities.
The specific substantive content of the Program's research is dictated,
to a large degree, by current and emerging science, technology, and
policy issues. Recent research has focused on policy issues related
to public perceptions of environmental and health risks, corporate environmental
management and green technological innovation, strategic policy innovation
and social learning, life-cycle assessment of energy systems, alternative
transportation fuels, solid waste management, and the use of scientific
and technical information for environmental management. Current and
recent faculty associated with the Program have represented aerospace
and mechanical engineering, business strategy, chemical engineering,
civil engineering and environmental science, geography, meteorology,
political science, and anthropology.
Students have found positions in academia, in industry, as private consultants, and in federal and state government.
Graduate tuition for the 1999-2000 academic year is $86.00 per credit hour for residents and $274.50 for non-residents. Graduate research assistants working with the Program are paid a stipend at least equivalent to the rate paid by their academic department. Tuition assistance or fee waivers may be available through the Program or through the students' academic departments.
The Science and Public Policy Program has developed a substantial library of materials related to science, technology, and public policy, with an emphasis on energy and environmental topics. The Program's library contains approximately 11,500 books and technical reports, and subscribes to 120 journals and newsletters. In addition, the Library has a large collection of journal articles, pamphlets, news clippings and maps. The materials in the Library supplement the holdings of the various other libraries at the University of Oklahoma.
