IEEE Ethics week - Webinar on Ethics in Public Policy; for the Society for Social Implications of Technology

The IEEE Ethics Week Subcommittee on Ethics and Public Policy will hold a webinar about how public policy can shape the ethics of engineering and engineered systems in society. It will include Zachary Pirtle, Dana Tulodziecki, and Michael Gifford. We’ll be excited to hear perspectives from the audience about what the connection between ethics and public policy should be, and we’ll have an active chat session during the discussion.

The event will occur on Wednesday, September 16, from 4:30–5:30 p.m. Eastern (9:30–10:30 p.m. London; September 17, 5:30–6:30 a.m. Tokyo; 6:30–7:30 a.m. Sydney).

Webinar login information (and required registration) is: https://asu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GAnky0rvSyasMt1FIrkThg

Zachary Gallagher Pirtle is Deputy Director of Arizona State University’s Consortium for Science, Policy, and Outcomes (CSPO) and a Professor of Practice in ASU’s College of Global Futures. Dr. Pirtle will speak about how recent legislation in the CHIPS and Science Act called for research on ethical, legal, and societal implications as part of developing emerging technologies. These policy objectives raise several questions about how we ensure that engineering research benefits society.

Dana Tulodziecki (Purdue) is Professor of Philosophy at Purdue University and affiliate faculty in the Purdue Policy Research Institute (PPRI). Dr. Tulodziecki will focus on how engineering and science activities aimed at developing and supporting biological systems in space are being shaped today by policy guidelines and approaches, and explore what additional policy reflection might be needed.

The philosopher Michael Gifford at Arizona State University will moderate. This event will be hosted by ASU CSPO and the Science, Technology, and Society Program at Arizona State University’s Polytechnic campus (STS@Poly).

The inaugural IEEE Ethics Week takes place from 12–20 September 2026. Other events are listed at the Ethics Week Website. Other information about the Society for Societal Implications of Technology can be found here.