New faculty Q&A: Jason Delborne

Portrait of Jason Delborne.Hometown

Oak Park, IL

Educational and professional background

After earning an undergraduate degree in human biology from Stanford University and a doctoral degree in environmental science, policy, and management from University of California-Berkeley, I started my academic career as a postdoctoral fellow here at UW–Madison in 2006. At the time, I was funded by the National Science Foundation’s program in science, technology, and society (STS) and worked in the Department of Community and Environmental Sociology. I left Madison in 2008 to start my first faculty position at Colorado School of Mines and then transitioned to North Carolina State University in 2013. At NC State, I helped start the Genetic Engineering and Society Center and also directed the Science, Technology, and Society (STS) undergraduate program. In 2023-24, I relocated to Washington, D.C., as an American Academy for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Technology Policy Fellow, assigned to the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office.

Previous position

Professor of Science, Policy, and Society; Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources; Genetic Engineering and Society Center; North Carolina State University.

What types of questions do you address in your research?

I am interested in how we develop and govern emerging technologies in a responsible manner that serves the public good. In particular, I have focused on the role of stakeholder and public engagement to inform the design and control of environmental biotechnologies. Gene editing, synthetic biology, gene drives, and genetic biocontrol all have enormous potential to tackle environmental problems ranging from invasive species to industrial pollution to climate change, but they also raise important social, political, and ethical concerns. My research aims to connect scientists and developers of emerging biotechnologies with broader perspectives that can inform their design decisions, partnerships with diverse experts, communication practices, and participation in regulatory processes.

How did you get interested in this field?

I went to graduate school during a time when molecular biologists were beginning to explore the power of genetic engineering and were blindsided by the public opposition to GMOs (genetically modified organisms). I was fascinated by the way that various actors in public and policy controversies seemed to speak past one another and even demonize the other side. When I discovered the scholarly field of science, technology, and society (STS), I found a community of scholars who offered concepts and insights about the ways that science, technology, and society interact and shape one another. Joining this interdisciplinary field has allowed me to delve deeply into the promises of emerging technologies while keeping a focus on their social and political dimensions.

What attracted you to the La Follette School?

I have always had a strong interest in public policy, which began with my election as class president in the 5th grade. I worked as a grassroots organizer in environmental policy after college and then returned to graduate school because I wanted to find ways to bridge the concerns of the public with governing processes that often relied only on expert knowledge. Throughout my research career I have tried to conduct research that speaks to the policy community, and the chance to join the La Follette School struck me as a perfect next step. I am excited to meet new colleagues, work with new communities of students, and explore the amazing opportunities at UW–Madison.

How does your research intersect with policymaking?

I have always been committed to engaged research as a social science, and I have especially enjoyed opportunities to serve on expert committees at the intersection of science and policy. Over the last few years, for example, I served on two committees at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine focused on forest biotechnology and gene drives, a working group to advise the National Institutes of Health on guidelines for gene drive research, and a task force for the International Union for Conservation of Nature to advise them on how to approach synthetic biology for biodiversity conservation. Just last year, I ramped up my policy emphasis by taking a sabbatical in Washington, D.C., and working within a science coordination office in the executive branch.

What is your approach to teaching?

My job as a teacher is to facilitate learning, not to download my knowledge into unsuspecting students’ brains. So I organize my classes as learning communities where we get to learn together. I try to ask questions that challenge students’ assumptions, introduce frameworks that provide insight, and choose case studies that motivate students to wrestle with the complexities of science, policy, and society. Over the last several years I have experimented with “Un-grading” as a strategy to help student discover more intrinsic motivations for learning and gain expertise in self-assessment.

What’s something interesting about your area of expertise that you’re excited to share with students?

We live in a moment with serious tensions and uncertainties regarding the roles of scientific expertise, popular sentiment, political advocacy, government bureaucracy, social media, academia, and market forces to guide decisions about science and technology. We face complex challenges with artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, biotechnology, and decarbonization of our energy supply. It might be tempting to just shrug and decide that there is nothing to be done – that technologies are inevitable and only powerful elites have any say over how they will be used or regulated. But my research explores strategies for bringing in more diverse voices into the governance of emerging technologies, and my experience suggests that such attempts can be worthwhile and meaningful.

What are you reading or watching currently?

I just finished “The Death and Life of the Great Lakes” (2017) by Dan Egan, which helped me understand the history of invasive species management in the Great Lakes. This gives me context for a current research project on exploring stakeholder perspectives on the genetic biocontrol of aquatic invasive species in the Great Lakes region.

Hobbies and interests

I love to be outside — biking, cross-country skiing, hiking, paddling, or playing volleyball, tennis, or pickleball. I have also been doing improv theater since I was in college, and I love taking classes and performing. For me, improv theater is not just a way to make people laugh, but offers lessons on how to live, how to work with others, and how to tap into new sources of creativity.


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