Issues in Science and Technology

Issues in Science and Technology
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Shanthi Chandrasekar,
Maya – Hridaya Kamalam
, 2011, acrylic on canvas, 44 x 40 inches.
Fred Tomaselli
Marilou Schultz
Tavares Strachan, “Shadow Maps (The Snowy Owl),” 2022, © Tavares Strachan, courtesy of the artist, photograph by Thys Dullart.
Fred Tomaselli
Sarah Pratt, Butter Sculpture of a Jersey Cow (installation view), made specially for the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Photo by Albert Ting.
Shoangh Rae
Liz Schreiber, "State Fairs: Growing American Craft," 2024–2025, various seeds and flower petals. Courtesy of Liz Schreiber.
Book Review
Roving the Prairies
Charles N. Herrick
Charles N. Herrick navigates the science and art of American grassland restoration in his review of George Frazier’s
Riverine Dream
interview
“The Key Lever for Increasing the Productivity of our Workforce Is Learning.”
Matt Sigelman
Molly Galvin
Burning Glass Institute president Matt Sigelman shares his insights about the worth of a college degree, the future of work in an age of artificial intelligence, and revitalizing the American dream.
The Latest
Research Universities
How the American Research University Survives
Robert A. Brown
Bruce R. Guile
Despite their focus on institutional research excellence, US research universities are well down a path of eroding public value and research prowess. University leadership needs to shift attention from chasing prestige to crafting strategies for long-term success.
Pluralistic Intelligence
Building Pluralistic Intelligence Into the American Research University
Michael M. Crow
David V. Rosowsky
William B. Dabars
To respond to challenges in society, sustainability, and governance, universities must first deal with the mismatch between how knowledge is actually generated and what academia recognizes and teaches.
Space Policy
A Vision for America’s Next Era in Space
Brian Babin
Maintaining the United States’ leadership in space requires discipline, continuity, and a clear division of responsibilities between government and industry.
The Ongoing Transformation
The Future of Making Babies
Emily Packard Dawson
Jason Lloyd
Assisted reproductive technologies have helped many people have children, but the egg donors behind this process are often overlooked. Emily Packard Dawson discusses donors and the donation process, along with the ethical and policy challenges raised by advances in reproductive technologies.
The Ongoing Transformation
Edward You Protected America From Bioterror
Edward You
Lisa Margonelli
Edward You worked at an unexpected place for science policy: the FBI. He shares how his experience as an agent helped reframe how the country protects biosecurity and supports innovation.
Grand Challenges
Repurposing Grand Challenges in Tumultuous Times
Martin Ho
Pramod P. Khargonekar
Eoin O’Sullivan
As research budgets tighten, priorities evolve, and new funding models emerge, the grand challenge framework can restore coherence, direction, and shared purpose across the scientific enterprise.
Tech Sovereignty
Building Bridges—Not Walls—for Technological Sovereignty
Anwar Aridi
Henning Kroll
Today’s emerging economies need to carefully manage tradeoffs to achieve technological sovereignty and a globally competitive position.
Engineering Culture
Who Will Build It?
Winifred Opoku
Restoring US manufacturing leadership requires a culture shift in how engineers, technologists, and technicians translate ideas into production.
Digital Infrastructure
Why the Cloud Needs Competition
Asad Ramzanali
To ensure the nation’s leadership in artificial intelligence, cloud computing infrastructure must be regulated to encourage competition and enable innovation, building on lessons from other sectors.
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Weaving Data and Community
Vol. XLII, No. 3, Spring 2026
There are big, open questions about the changing relationship between science and society: How should the public fund science, and what kind of science should it fund? What should society expect in return for its support? What is the role of research universities in the scientific ecosystem? And the relationship between science and society looks very different at the local, or even personal, level—and the questions are different too: How can research improve the quality of life in my community? Should I be worried about the refinery in my neighborhood? Is my town able to assist the most vulnerable when the power goes out during a storm? The essays in the Spring 2026
Issues
explore all these questions to better understand how the social contract with science is evolving.
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From This Issue
Roving the Prairies
Charles N. Herrick
“The Key Lever for Increasing the Productivity of our Workforce Is Learning.”
Matt Sigelman
Molly Galvin
How the American Research University Survives
Robert A. Brown
Bruce R. Guile
Building Pluralistic Intelligence Into the American Research University
David V. Rosowsky
Michael M. Crow
William B. Dabars
Forum
In response to essays published in
Issues
, our readers weigh in on critical topics in policy related to science, technology, and society.
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Spring 2026
What’s Missing in Animal Welfare Efforts?
A Discussion of
Water Breathing Is a Blind Spot in Animal Welfare Science
Responses By
Kathy Hessler
Becca Franks
Lynne U. Sneddon
Craig Callender
Spring 2026
What’s Possible When a State Invests in Science-Informed Policymaking
A Discussion of
Research That Solves North Carolina’s Problems
Responses By
Rachel K. Owen
Darrell T. Allison
Hallie Thompson
Beyond the Headlines
Enlisting Cacti to Fight Drought
Much of the United States is seeing record drought for this time of year, the AP reports, raising worries about wildfires, food prices, and water supply. In a modest but intriguing look…
Shooting for the Moon—and Beyond
Following its Artemis II lunar-looping mission, NASA is preparing the next steps aimed at landing humans back on the Moon, the AP reports. In
Issues
, Brian Babin details why the United…
Teaching AI to Learn as Humans Do
Reflecting her pioneering role in bringing “spatial intelligence” to artificial intelligence—teaching AI to learn visually as humans do—
USA Today
named Fei-Fei Li one of its 2026 Women of the Year. In…
Record Heat Wave Threatening Much of US
After setting records across the Southwest, a “gigantic heat dome,” likely fueled by climate change, is heading east “and may end up being one of the most expansive heat waves in American…
Future Tense Fiction
Future Tense Fiction is a speculative fiction series that uses imagination to explore how science and technology will shape our future. It features short stories written by acclaimed authors across a wide range of styles. Each story is paired with original artwork by Rey Velasquez Sagcal and a response essay from an expert who connects the fictional narrative to real-world policy debates.
What Happens When a Groundbreaking Invention Falls Victim to Human Impulse?
Torie Bosch
Even inventions with the loftiest of goals can be commandeered for unscrupulous—or nefarious—ends. Where does that leave the inventors?
Response
The Pocket Box™
Gunnar Anderson
What happens when a technology moves from groundbreaking scientific discovery to mass consumer product? Gunnar Anderson’s story explores a mysterious new discovery that breaks the bounds of physics as we once understood them. But quickly, scientific awe morphs into commercial prospecting—with little regulation and horrifying consequences.
The Dividing Towers of Mumbai
Moira Shourie
Moira Shourie returns to Mumbai, the city she once called home while working at MTV India. She reflects on how a culture of celebrity, rampant inequality, and complex urban design divide some residents and bring others together.
Response
What Would Akanda Do?
Samit Basu
An Indian actor in a future Mumbai has authorized politicians, entertainers, and businesses to use his likeness. When he discovers his image is being used as a tool for repression—and when two kids he’s close to disappear—the actor is forced to confront what he really gave away.
The Algorithmic Fog of War
Candace Rondeaux
What happens as AI systems become embedded in military operations? Candace Rondeaux explores how command structures are already reorganizing around AI black boxes—and what it would look like to design decisionmaking structures that combine technical capacity with human expertise.
Response
Deficiency Agent
Andrew Liptak
How will artificial intelligence transform warfare? Andrew Liptak’s story brings us to the front lines to see how a glitchy combat AI deals with the tricky task of balancing the demands of a mission with the unpredictability of the battlefield.
Collection
Perspectives on Science’s “Social Contract”
Explore the Collection
Over four decades,
Issues
has hosted many articles discussing science’s “social contract”—the idea, as physicist Harvey Brooks articulated it in 1988, that the scientific enterprise would provide “social benefits in exchange for an unusual degree of self-governance and financial support free of strings.” Today, this contract is clearly defunct: The federal government has cut funding for science, cast doubt on scientific findings, and prioritized investment in research outside the university system. Whatever the future of federally funded science is, it’s no longer “free of strings.” As the scientific enterprise tries to decide how to respond, it first needs to figure out what happened.
The collection of these articles is part of an exploration of science’s social contract that is generously supported by
The Kavli Foundation
Discussing Science’s “Social Contract”
Ian Banks
Heather E. Douglas
David H. Guston
C. Brandon Ogbunu
Bina Venkataraman
If the public funds science and gives it autonomy to govern itself, then benefits such as economic growth, innovation, and national security will follow. This unwritten social contract was long thought to underpin policymakers’ relationship to the scientific enterprise, but recent events suggest those days are over.
No Longer Free of Strings
Lisa Margonelli
Why has the idea of an implicit social contract between society and science had a hold on scientists’ imaginations for so long? And what does it mean now that the relationship has frayed?
It’s Time for Universities to Redesign Their 75-Year-Old Contract
Michael M. Crow
William B. Dabars
David V. Rosowsky
American research universities have unleashed an age of massive technical innovation—but they’ve failed to innovate their own designs to meet the changing needs of society.
“The More Inclusion We Have in Science, the Better Outcomes We’ll Get.”
Eddie Bernice Johnson
Molly Galvin
Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson spent five decades in public service, during which she ushered through landmark science and technology legislation and helped to advance opportunities for all Americans.
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Sculpting The Floods
Nathalie Miebach
A Capacity for World-Building
Tavares Strachan
Butter Cows and Seed Art and Participatory Spectacles
Colleen Sheehy
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