Center for Science, Technology and Society

Drexel’s Center for Science, Technology and Society (STS) brings together faculty and students who investigate the social dimensions of technology, medicine and science. Faculty in a range of fields — anthropology, criminal justice, history, information sciences, philosophy, political science, public health and sociology — conduct original research on the impact of new technologies, medical categories and scientific knowledge. They also investigate why some technologies or scientific knowledge are adopted while others are not.

Visit the STS Center

Labor and Energy Project

The Labor and Energy Project is a National Science Foundation-funded study based at Drexel University. It is a three-year project examining union member’s views on the U.S. energy system and its future. It is led by Diane Sicotte and Kelly Joyce, professors in the Department of Sociology. The project has included in-depth interviews with over 100 union members and leaders in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York, and an institutional analysis of unions’ website and public materials, and state-level energy policies. We draw on the expertise and knowledge of union members and energy workers to understand their views on the U.S. energy system. Our research highlights why the experiences of union members are important to ensuring that jobs in a clean energy future are good, long lasting careers.

We look forward to your questions and feedback. Email our project team at labor.energy@drexel.edu.

Project Team

• Primary Investigators: Diane Sicotte, PhD; Kelly Joyce, PhD
• Post doctoral researcher: Arielle Hesse
• Student assistants and researchers: Lavy Dinh, Gabrielle Hoang, Melanie Huot, Kejsi Ruka, Victoria Wible

Learn More

Funding

Societal Aspects of Energy Infrastructure Expansion – National Science Foundation, Award Abstract #1827464

Publications

Our published work includes academic peer-reviewed articles and white papers directed at state and local policy makers in Pennsylvania and Philadelphia.

• Academic papers
• White papers

Latest News

Our project team —made up of faculty and students from diverse disciplines across all levels of scholarship— explores energy systems and conducts sociological research on organized labor, using multiple methods including content analysis, in-depth interviews and fieldwork.

Sophomore Kejsi Ruka Goes from STAR Scholar to Award Winner

Global Studies major Kejsi Ruka recently presented her research at the Stanford Student Research Conference, where she was awarded Best Poster in the Qualitative Social Science Research Category. Her conference poster presented her analysis of what unionized energy workers think about energy transitions and the future of energy in the United States.

Read More

Junior Victoria Wible Tackles Energy Transitions in Sociology Co-op

Victoria Wible, a sociology major and research assistant on co-op this spring with the Labor and Energy Project at Drexel, presented her research at the Mid-Atlantic Undergraduate Social Science Conference, organized through Lebanon Valley College.

Read More