‘Maximize Your Impact’ symposium to offer insights into intersection of technology and policy

The Purdue Policy Research Institute (PPRI) in collaboration with Neera Jain, associate professor in the School of Mechanical Engineering, will present “Maximize Your Impact: Informing Policy as an Academic in STEM” on April 29. The one-day symposium will provide an overview of the broader and sustainable impact that engineers and scientists can and must have on society. The primary funding for this event comes from the Violet B. Haas Memorial Fellowship, awarded to Jain in 2021.

The symposium will address the bridge between discovery and impact of new technologies by involving the understanding of cultural contexts, effective communication and successful implementation through well-informed policy. The daylong event aims to inform, inspire and build a critical network of engineers and scientists at Purdue who have the interest and capacity to inform science and technology policy for the betterment of the human condition. It also will introduce new opportunities to students trying to identify their own career paths and trajectories.

“Maximize Your Impact” is primarily targeted toward engineers or scientists but is open to all disciplines from each of the Purdue campuses. While some aspects of the program are focused on faculty, this event also is intended for students who are potentially interested in careers in policy or having an impact on policy through their technical career.

The symposium is at the Convergence Center for Innovation and Collaboration and will begin at 8:30 a.m. ET with a continental breakfast and networking period. Participants will subsequently attend various keynote talks and panel discussions throughout the day before the event concludes with a networking reception at 5 p.m. Prospective attendees can view a detailed agenda of the day’s sessions and are advised to register online well in advance.   

The Purdue Policy Research Institute catalyzes and leverages extant policy-relevant transdisciplinary research among members of the Purdue research community, facilitates enduring connections among local and global actors, and generates impact on policymaking and beyond. The institute is guided by the principle that policy development must consider the interdependencies among technological, economic, ethical and social factors. Together with collaborators in academia and the public and private sectors, PPRI inspires the development of nonpartisan policies that solve pressing global challenges.

The Violet Haas award was established in 1990 and is awarded annually through the Susan Bulkeley Butler Center for Leadership Excellence at Purdue. Violet Haas was a female professor of electrical engineering at Purdue who had significant impact both on her technical field of control theory and on the condition of women in engineering.