Troy, N.Y. - Sharon Anderson-Gold, professor of science and technology studies (STS) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has been named chair of the STS department.

"Sharon Anderson-Gold is a scholar of philosophy and an expert in ethics across a number of disciplines. Her long and distinguished record at Rensselaer makes her the ideal individual to lead the department," said John Harrington, dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences (H&SS).

Anderson-Gold, Rensselaer faculty member for nearly 25 years, specializes in applied ethics and social and political philosophy. Several of her essays and other published works are focused on international justice and human rights, including her book, Cosmopolitanism and Human Rights (University of Wales Press, 2001).

Prior to becoming STS chair, Anderson-Gold has served as acting and associate dean of H&SS, chair of the H&SS curriculum committee, and director of the First-Year Studies program, an interdisciplinary faculty-team-taught program for freshmen. She became an STS faculty member in 1999.

As STS chair, Anderson-Gold says priorities include further enhancing and promoting the common themes of social and environmental justice as well as the importance of community involvement in the design of emerging technologies in faculty research and throughout the curricula. STS coursework at Rensselaer ranges from international politics, environmentalism, and how product design affects society, to ethics in computing, medicine, and biotechnology.

Anderson-Gold earned her doctoral degree in philosophy and maste's degrees in political science and philosophy at The Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research in New York City.

About the Department of Science and Technology
The interdisciplinary field of STS examines and influences how society shapes science and technology, and how, in turn, science and technology shape society and the environment. One of the first universities to offer B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in STS, Rensselaer is a national leader in developing STS academic programs.

Contact: Jodi Ackerman
Phone: (518) 276-6531
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