Dr. Caroline Wagner presents on dynamic self-organizing networks in higher education

MENLO PARK, Calif. – February 14, 2008 – SRI International, an independent nonprofit research and development organization, today announced that SRI Senior Policy Analyst Caroline Wagner, Ph.D., will deliver a talk titled Science, Ethics, and Institutional Traditions Around the World at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Boston from February 14 to 18. Wagner’s talk is based on research for her new book, The New Invisible College: Science for Development, which is being published in Spring 2008 by The Brookings Institution Press.

Wagner asserts, “Like many parts of the knowledge system, the organization of scientific research is changing in fundamental ways. Self-organizing networks that span the globe are the most notable feature of science today. These networks constitute an invisible college of researchers: scientists who collaborate not because they are told to but because they want to, not because they work in the same laboratory or even in the same field but because they have complementary insight, data, or skills. Networks can take on the role of institutions in some parts of the world that do not have a long history of building scientific infrastructure.”

At SRI’s Center for Science, Technology, and Economic Development, Wagner works on projects related to measurement and evaluation of science and technology. Before joining SRI, she worked at RAND Corporation, held positions for the U.S. Congress Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and for the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment. Wagner also served as an analyst for the federal government, specializing in comparative analysis of global developments in science and technology.