CEE Dept. – 2025 McCarty Distinguished Lecture, featuring Janet Hering: “Let’s Stop Disincentivizing STEM Research with Societal Impact in Academia”
April 21 @ 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
2025 Perry McCarty Distinguished Lecture
“Let’s Stop Disincentivizing STEM Research with Societal Impact in Academia”
Janet Hering
Director Emerita, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science & Technology (Eawag)
Professor Emerita, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETHZ) and Lausanne (EPFL)
ABSTRACT: Despite its awkwardness, I chose this title to encapsulate the questions I hope to address in this presentation. (1) Who is the “us” in “let’s”? Who sets the incentives in academia and why? (2) What do we mean by “STEM research with societal impact”? Why is it worth doing this? (3) What disincentives are in place now? How could their effects be reduced? (4) How could we apply the concepts from implementation science, actionable research, and small wins? (5) Besides removing disincentives, how could academic research institutions contribute more effectively to addressing the world’s most pressing issues? (Bonus question: How can the STEM academic research community maintain its resilience in the face of post-truth politics?)
BIO: Since 2023, Janet Hering has been Director Emerita of the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science & Technology (Eawag) and Professor Emerita at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETHZ) and Lausanne (EPFL). Prior to moving to Switzerland in 2007, Prof. Em. Hering was a faculty member at Caltech and UCLA. She is a former Associate Editor of Environmental Science & Technology and former member of the Board of Reviewing Editors for Science. She is an elected member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and Academia Europaea.