CSSPP Research

Following its launch in 2023, the initial phase of center research activities will focus on substantive areas where there is strong scientific interest at Caltech: climate change and sustainability, biotechnology and bioethics, and the ethics of artificial intelligence. In each substantive area the center will collaborate with other Caltech research centers, in particular the Resnick Sustainability Institute, the Ronald and Maxine Linde Center for Global Environmental Science, the Center for Social Information Sciences (CSIS), and the Merkin Institute for Translational Research.

The CSSPP's research efforts will center around developing and sustaining new scientific studies at Caltech in these thematic areas that will focus on each topic's unique ethical implications, policy impacts, and scientific communication. The center's founding co-directors will work closely with center postdoctoral researchers, as well as Caltech faculty and students, and produce novel and unique research contributions in these areas. In addition, the center will organize and host workshops and conferences that will present these research products and help to better connect Caltech researchers and policymakers. Finally, the center will fund other research efforts at Caltech, so faculty and students interested in these areas are encouraged to contact the center directors for additional information.

Here are some examples of policy-relevant publications by scholars affiliated with CSSPP:

Here is an example of unpublished work by scholars affiliated with CSSPP:

  • APSA 2023 presentations on carbon tax research and on election attacks from Beatrice Magistro, Sreemanti Dey, Daniel Ebanks, and R. Michael Alvarez.