Ogmius 10TH
Anniversary issue

Erik Fisher

It’s a pleasure to think back on my time at the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research. Nestled in between sleepy bungalows on Grandview Avenue, the Center was home to some of the liveliest debates on campus. At any point during the semester, upon entering the building by one of two weighty doors that presented something of a benign dilemma to the first time visitor, one could regularly expect to find gatherings that drew scientists of all kinds, worldly philosophers, and an intriguing variety of local and national policy practitioners. Surrounding the mysterious twin staircase that offered multiple routes to the same destination, the cloistered network of hallways, desks, and offices always seemed to me to be bursting not just with people, but with ideas and possibilities. Some ten years later, after an initial email inquiry to Roger [Pielke, Jr.] about the ‘Science Wars’, which soon after led to my rapid immersion in all things science policy and policy sciences, I can still trace elements of my own frameworks and methodologies—which have come to be applied in over 30 science and engineering laboratories in a dozen countries across three continents—to sources of insight, inspiration and critical reflection that he and others at the Center introduced me to and helped me think through.

PHOTO FROM THE PAST

Erik Fisher giving a talk in 2009

Erik Fisher, research scientist and doctoral student, CSTPR 2003-06; Ph.D. ENVS 2006; currently assistant professor in the School of Politics and Global Studies and the Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes (CSPO) at Arizona State University; assistant director for international activities at the Center for Nanotechnology in Society (CNS-ASU); director of the Socio-Technical Integration Research (STIR) project.