Workshop on Research Agendas in the Societal Aspects of Synthetic Biology

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

This award, cofunded by Systems and Synthetic Biology/MCB, Science,Technology and Society/SES, and Biotechnology, Biochemical and Biomass Engineering/CBET, will support a workshop that addresses societal issues associated with the emerging technology, synthetic biology. Synthetic biology is often defined as the design (or re-design) of biological parts, devices, and systems, toward a useful purpose. Societal questions about the governance of synthetic biology, as well as questions about its ethical dimensions and visions of its desirable futures are important projects for systematic inquiry. Societal research on synthetic biology is crucial for its responsible development. The workshop will be held at Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe, AZ, 4-6 November 2014. The workshop will gather approximately 75 social scientists, humanists, scientists and engineers who are working in the area of synthetic biology and related emerging technologies. Through drafting assignments prior to the workshop, an engaging combination of plenaries, break-out activities, and ambiance at the workshop, and aggressive and varied outreach afterward, the workshop conveners will articulate, and disseminate community-generated ideas for research on the societal aspects of synthetic biology. The issues the workshop plans to explore include: biosafety and biosecurity, ethics, sustainability, DIY/makers, public opinion and values, research and innovations systems analysis, integration and reflexivity, anticipation and futures, informal science education, international and inter-agency collaboration, risk, and governance. The workshop is designed to raise and attend to other issues that emerge through discussion.