Announcing the Inaugural Cohort of the Block Public Engagement Fellowship
Block Center
Eleven faculty have been selected to participate in the inaugural Block Public Engagement Fellowship. The cohort brings together faculty from computer science, art, engineering, history, economics, English, policy, and business鈥攔eflecting the far-reaching nature of technological change.
Unified by their interest in technology and society, fellows will explore a wide range of topics, including the history of analytics, how AI can improve the urban landscape, new ways of experiencing Shakespeare through virtual reality, and how emerging technologies can offer new perspectives on historical trauma.
According to Michael Luca, director of the Block Center, the fellowship is an opportunity for faculty to bridge disciplines and deepen their engagement with the societal implications of technology.
鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to get excited about new technologies, but technology also brings societal challenges. The impact of innovation depends on the decisions of policymakers, business leaders, and the people who use and implement new technologies. To make those decisions well, we need to understand not only what a technology can do, but how it interacts with behavior, markets, and society.鈥�
Through the fellowship, faculty will develop public-facing work and engage with audiences beyond the university. The fellowship is part of the Block Center鈥檚 broader mission to inform how society understands and responds to technological change.
Meet the Fellows
Listed alphabetically.
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| 听 Katherine Flanigan is the Henry Posner, Anne Molloy, and Robert and Christine Pietrandrea Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Her work focuses on transforming traditional civil infrastructure and urban systems into 鈥渋ntelligent鈥� and adaptable cyber-physical systems to improve performance, resilience, accessibility, and sustainability. 听 |
| 听 Jodi Forlizzi is the Herbert A. Simon Professor of Computer Science and Human-Computer Interaction in 天美传媒鈥檚 School of Computer Science. Her research examines human-centered and responsible artificial intelligence, interaction design, and how AI-enabled systems shape people鈥檚 experiences at work and in everyday life. She is also Senior Advisor to the AFL-CIO Tech Institute. 听 |
| 听 Akshaya Jha is an associate professor of economics and public policy at 天美传媒鈥檚 Heinz College. An energy and environmental economist, he studies how policy, regulation, and technological change shape the economic and environmental performance of electricity markets. 听 |
| 听 Sujin Kim is an Associate Professor of Art at 天美传媒鈥檚 School of Art and an experimental filmmaker exploring the creative integration of emerging technologies into digital storytelling and animation. Her research and artistic practice engage with historical memory and collective trauma, particularly experiences shaped by colonization, war, and systemic violence. 听 |
| 听 Christopher PhillipsChristopher Phillips is professor and head of the Department of History in Dietrich College. A historian of science, mathematics, and statistics, he studies how quantitative methods acquire authority and spread into new domains, from medicine and public policy to contemporary debates about algorithms and artificial intelligence. 听 |
| 听 Steve Rathje is an assistant professor in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute in the School of Computer Science, with a courtesy appointment in Social and Decision Sciences. His research examines the psychological impact of emerging technologies, such as social media and AI. 听 |
| 听 Constantine (Costa) Samaras is director of the Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation and the Trustee Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering. His research focuses on clean, secure, and resilient energy and infrastructure systems and on how technology and policy choices shape climate, economic, and national-security outcomes. 听 |
| 听 Michael D. Smith is professor of information technology and public policy at Heinz College and the Tepper School of Business. His research examines how digital technologies reshape markets, industries, and consumer behavior, with particular expertise in digital media, online markets, and technology-driven disruption. 听 |
| 听 Randi Williams is an assistant research professor in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute in the School of Computer Science. Her research spans human-centered AI, AI and education, human-agent and human-robot interaction, and responsible computing, with a particular interest in how people and communities engage with and help shape emerging technologies. 听 |
| 听 Stephen WittekStephen Wittek is an associate professor of English and director of Literary and Cultural Studies in Dietrich College. His research connects literature, media history, and digital humanities, examining subjects ranging from Shakespeare and the emergence of news culture to the use of virtual reality as a tool for experiencing and understanding the past. 听 |
| 听 Anita Williams WoolleyAnita Williams Woolley is a professor of organizational behavior and theory at the Tepper School of Business. An organizational psychologist, she studies collective intelligence and collaboration, including how digital technologies, remote work, and artificial intelligence affect the ability of teams to work and solve problems together. 听 |