Dr Arnold Vedlitz

The Institute for Science, Technology and Public Policy (ISTPP) is an interdisciplinary research institute with environmental and natural resources policy as one of its research focuses. ISTPP interdisciplinary research projects focus on the ways that scientific and technological information is framed, processed, communicated, and received in complex systems and the policy implications of these processes. Projects have as their goal the development of theoretical and applied frameworks that integrate technical and policy data to provide more holistic assessments of problems and their potential solutions. Current research projects in the environmental area involve examination of the ways that science-based information on climate change is transmitted to stakeholders, interpreted by them and used in both developing policy and in planning and implementing adaptation strategies. Projects include research at the national scale and research on specific Gulf of Mexico locations. The Institute staff includes a range of social science disciplines and also works closely with natural and bench scientists in other university departments.