The Rolf Buchdahl Symposium on Science, Technology & Human Values

This symposium is designed to celebrate the 100th birthday of Rolf Buchdahl, and to reflect on his life and legacy by spotlighting the interdisciplinary teaching and research on the issues of science, technology, and human values at North Carolina State University.

Rolf Buchdahl, a retired industry researcher, was a visiting scholar in the Science, Technology, and Society Program in the late 1970s. The annual Buchdahl Lecture, inaugurated in 1981, was endowed by a gift from his family following Dr. Buchdahl’s death in 1980, and was designed to focus on issues at the intersection of science, technology, and human values. Each year, one prominent speaker has been invited to the NC State campus.

This year, we will expand this lecture and create a day-long public symposium at NC State on April 10, 2015 to accomplish several aims: (1) to celebrate the centennial of Rolf Buchdahl’s life and legacy; (2) to create a broad platform through which to engage science, social science, and humanities faculty, students, and the public on issues of science, technology, and human values; and (3) to showcase the interdisciplinary nature of these issues.

This symposium will feature panels on contemporary scientific and engineering controversies that reflect important themes of science, technology, and human values in the areas of: (1) computing; (2) nuclear power; and (3) ethics education in the sciences and engineering. For more details please click here.