Sara Pritchard giving a talk to sts faculty and grad students

Department of Science & Technology Studies

The Department of Science & Technology Studies (S&TS) at Cornell is concerned with understanding the larger ethical, social, and political dimensions of science-intensive issues. Science and technology are at the core of many of the most important concerns or topics of our day, from the control of military technology, to the ethics of assisted reproduction, to privacy on the Internet. The thread connecting these diverse issues is a shared understanding of science and technology as inherently social activities that are best studied from an interdisciplinary perspective.

S&TS News

Two people standing on a stage, holding a certificate between them

Lewenstein wins science communication prize

The inaugural Award for the Advancement of Science Communication as a Professional Field from the International Network on Public Communication of Science & Technology recognizes outstanding contributions to the development of science communication as a field.

A&S senior honored for work that impacts the community

For her work supporting the Ithaca community and people struggling with incarceration and drug addiction across New York, Netra Shetty ’25 earned the 2025 University Relations Campus Community Leadership Award.

Pink flowering tree and a stone colonade with people on the steps

Outstanding faculty win 2025 teaching and advising awards

Among those being recognized for exceptional teaching and mentorship this year are faculty members Begüm Adalet, Claudia Verhoeven, and Marcelo Aguiar.

'I embraced my love of learning'

Laine Havens is majoring in astronomy and science & technology studies

'My learning is limitless'

Andrea Zarazúa is majoring in Spanish and biology & society.

'I started making connections between my classes that I never expected'

Mana Setayesh is a science and technology studies major.

'My majors allowed me to see the deep interconnections between language, culture, science and societal structures'

Salvatore Brancato is majoring in Biology & Society and Spanish.

'I've gained the ability to approach arguments from different perspectives'

Jeremiah Gorman is a biology & society major.

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Department Links of Interests

Faculty Courses STS Major Biology & Society Major Graduate Program

The Department is saddened by the passing of our friend and colleague, Trevor Pinch.

Trevor Pinch, Distinguished Professor of Arts and Sciences in Science and Technology Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, who helped found multiple areas of study related to science, technology and sound, died Dec. 16, 2021, after living with cancer for more than four years. He was 69.

Land Acknowledgement:

Cornell University is located on the traditional homelands of the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' (the Cayuga Nation). The Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' are members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, an alliance of six sovereign Nations with a historic and contemporary presence on this land. The Confederacy precedes the establishment of Cornell University, New York state, and the United States of America. We acknowledge the painful history of Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' dispossession, and honor the ongoing connection of Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' people, past and present, to these lands and waters.

This land acknowledgment has been reviewed and approved by the traditional Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' leadership.