NSF Student Travel Grant for the 2023 Consortium for the Science of Sociotechnical Systems Summer Research Institute (CSST 2023)

The researchers, data scientists, and designers who will solve humanity’s most difficult problems need training in interdisciplinary thinking and boundary spanning. For example, finding solutions to climate change requires understanding the economics of energy production systems, the possibilities of emerging technologies, and methods for building social and political acceptance. Improving cybersecurity and privacy requires deep technical knowledge of encryption and trust models, as well as philosophical and anthropological understandings of values like safety and autonomy. All of these problems are fundamentally sociotechnical, demanding both social and technical knowledge. However, researchers who span boundaries too often are trained at the margins of their fields. Trans-disciplinary researchers infrequently find models of success, mentorship, or support in their home institutions and fields. Without such support, interdisciplinary efforts cannot be expected to thrive. The Consortium for the Science of Sociotechnical Systems Summer Research Institute provides this support by bringing together senior Ph.D. students, post-docs, industry researchers, and early career faculty with experienced, senior boundary-spanning researchers, providing a critical intellectual and professional support system that enables boundary-spanning researchers to succeed. The central function of the yearly summer research institute is to sustain and develop a densely connected research community of scholars. An initial cohort of approximately 10 mentors are recruited each fall, with additional mentors recruited as needed to support the particular needs of mentees in the spring. The call for participants is released in early spring each year. Approximately 30 participants (senior Ph.D. students, post-docs, industry researchers, and early career faculty) are chosen by a review committee comprised of mentors, organizers, and other senior reviewers as necessary to conduct a well-informed review of the submissions; these reviewers will make their decisions based on materials submitted by applicants in response to the Call for Participation. Disciplinary, methodological, institutional, topical, and personal diversity will all be considered in final acceptance decisions. The 5-day, 4-night event will include a welcome reception on Monday evening; three days of small-group mentoring sessions, panels, and workshops; and a plenary closing session on Friday morning. Participants will be invited to join informal social activities outside of the institute’s formal sessions and participate in a Slack workspace intended to support cohort and community beyond the conclusion of the in-person event. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.