InSPIRE

REGISTER IN PERSON: https://myumi.ch/3RMW2

REGISTER ON ZOOM: https://myumi.ch/NrVjD

Fear and suspicion of Asian technology-- from DeepSeek AI, to social media platforms like TikTok, to Taiwanese semiconductor giants like TSMC that supply the world with chips-- is higher in the U.S. than it has been for decades. This panel brings together leading Asian American researchers, artists, and filmmakers to explore Asia’s role in building today’s high technology. We will also examine how rising anxiety around Asian tech impacts Asian American communities in the U.S. today.

Free boba from Unitea will be provided for the first 100 attendees!

All are welcome and we strongly encourage undergraduate and graduate students to attend. Advance registration is recommended.

REGISTER: https://stpp.fordschool.umich.edu/event/2025/development-and-decarbonization-competing-energy-futures 

The panel will examine several issues facing the country as two powerful forces seem to be at odds. How much power infrastructure do we need to build to decarbonize and meet growing data center and other power demand, and can it be done? Do well-intended laws and processes enacted over the last 50 years even allow large scale infrastructure development anymore? Can the development be done consistent with societal environmental and labor standards?

REGISTER HERE: https://stpp.fordschool.umich.edu/event/2025/stpp-graduate-certificate-information-session-0

Please join us for a virtual information session to learn about the Science, Technology, and Public Policy Graduate Certificate Program.

Do you want to learn how science and technology policy is made? Are you interested in the social and ethical implications of developments like facial recognition, gene editing, or autonomous vehicles? Are you concerned about the increased politicization of science and research funding?

In the STPP graduate certificate program, graduate students from across the University analyze the role of science and technology in the policymaking process, gain experience writing for policymakers, and explore the political and policy landscape of areas such as biotechnology, information technology, energy, and others. Graduates of the STPP certificate have gone on to a range of policy-engaged scientific roles in government, NGOs, and academia.

More information about the program is available at: http://stpp.fordschool.umich.edu/graduate-certificate/. Applications are due November 1st!

REGISTER IN PERSON: https://myumi.ch/A148w

REGISTER ON ZOOM: https://myumi.ch/G2qgm

MORE INFORMATION: https://stpp.fordschool.umich.edu/event/2025/disco-network-presents-how-survive-techno-hellscapes-crip-wisdom-and-critique

Everything is on fire. The supports disabled people need for survival are being decimated. The robots are coming after us, harvesting our data, surveilling us, and determining who is worthy to live. What can we do? How might the wisdom of disability elders and cross-movement organizers equip us for what’s happening and what’s to come? This roundtable brings together disability culture workers, activists, writers, and scholars to think-together about disability futures.

All are welcome and we strongly encourage undergraduate and graduate students to attend. Refreshments are provided for the first 100 attendees!

Advance registration is recommended.

REGISTER IN PERSON: https://myumi.ch/mRXXg

REGISTER ON ZOOM: https://myumi.ch/jJrrz

MORE INFORMATION: https://stpp.fordschool.umich.edu/event/2025/disco-network-presents-diaspora-wars-and-going-5050-sowing-disunity-black-communities

This panel brings together Black feminist scholars, writers, and public intellectuals to examine how and why debates about gender, sexuality, and nationality consistently emerge as top topics on social media platforms within Black discursive communities. How do algorithms and influencer culture contribute to sowing discontent and misinformation among Black social media users? We consider the social and political implications, who ultimately benefits from these conversations, and how we can make different choices around our own engagement and participation.

All are welcome and we strongly encourage undergraduate and graduate students to attend.

Advance registration is recommended.

REGISTER IN PERSON: https://myumi.ch/Mkxmp

REGISTER ON ZOOM: https://myumi.ch/bVq6V

MORE INFORMATION: https://stpp.fordschool.umich.edu/event/2026/disco-network-presents-black-boys-and-future-technology

Can technology improve the lives of Black boys? Recently, new reports, with familiar conclusions, discuss the way Black boys continue to fall behind, which is partially responsible for shrinking enrollments of Black men in college. Particularly striking are the declining numbers at HBCUs. In turning this conversation away from negative reporting toward positive action, we will explore the ways technology can intervene and provide new opportunities, pathways, and platforms for Black boys to thrive.

All are welcome and we strongly encourage undergraduate and graduate students to attend.

Advance registration is recommended.