The Center for Science and Society is an effort initiated by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the College of Science to promote disciplinary and interdisciplinary research among College and University Faculty on the many and varied topics at the intersections of society, science, and technology. Many of the world's problems and their eventual solutions lie at this crucial junction of scientific advance and societal need. Launched in September 2007, the Center intends to organize its activities around foci as identified by interested faculty members. One compelling area that has attracted the most attention by a wide array of scholars and students is the issue of climate change.

We propose climate and society as an initial focal area for the Center. While the scientific evidence of climate change and its potentially disastrous consequences has never been clearer, exactly how to foster widespread policy and behavior change so as to mitigate and successfully adapt to climate change is less well understood. Mason has great breadth and depth of expertise in the full range of natural and social sciences needed to tackle this conundrum through research and stakeholder engagement. Faculty in the department of Climate Dynamics have been at the forefront of national and international scientific study of climate variability and change. The departments of Earth Systems and Geo-information Sciences and Geography, have a strong record in satellite observation of the Earth so necessary to document and follow global change. The departments of Communication, Environmental Science & Policy and Sociology each bring great strengths to the societal engagement side of the equation. And many other of Mason’s institutes and schools -- including the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, School of Public Policy, College of Health and Human Services, The Volgenau College of Information Technology & Engineering -- each have significant interest in the causes, effects or mitigation technologies of global change.

Furthermore, to be concrete, we propose a trans-disciplinary research collaboration that conceptualizes the “research to practice” continuum as being driven by multiple considerations including: the research results that members of the science community feel have the most important implications for society; the perceived information needs of important stakeholders in society (e.g., policy makers, business leaders, government officials, NGO leaders, the media, and members of the interested public at large); and the “knowledge management” challenges inherent in human cognition, organizational dynamics, and social systems. Our research, therefore, would study all three processes and how they interact.