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Engineering and Public Policy
Research Overview Continued
Engineering and Public Policy (EPP) is a unique
department in the College of Engineering at Carnegie
Mellon University which addresses important problems
in technology and policy. The department offers
a research-oriented Ph.D. program and double-major
undergraduate B.S. programs with each of the five
traditional engineering departments and Computer
Science.
Research in the department focuses on problems in:
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energy and environmental systems;
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information and communication
technology policy;
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risk analysis and communication;
and,
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technology policy and management
(including technological innovation and R&D
policy).
Across these four focal areas, the
department also addresses issues in technology and
organizations and technology and economic development,
focusing in particular on India and China. We frequently
undertake the development of new software tools for
the support of policy analysis and research. And,
we sometimes study issues in arms control and defense
policy.
The graduate program in Engineering and Public Policy
educates technically skilled men and women at the
doctoral level to be leaders in policy-focused research.
We work on policy problems in which the technology
matters - - problems in which technology cannot be
treated as a black box.
Policy-focused research differs from policy analysis
in three important ways: it takes a longer term perspective;
it takes a more fundamental perspective; and it may
focus on the development of theory and of analytical
tools and techniques as well as on solving specific
problems.
Perhaps the quickest way to understand what EPP's
graduate program is all about is to look at a few
of the more recent titles among the more than 100
Ph.D.s the department has now awarded:
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Profit and the academic ethos:
The activity and performance of university-industry
research centers in the United States. (1995)
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A framework for improving the
cost-effectiveness of demand-side management program
evaluations. (1995)
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Privacy and reliability in internet
commerce. (1996)
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A methodology for evaluating the
usefulness of global-change information for long-term
decision making: A case study of fisheries management
in the Pacific Northwest. (1996)
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Regional integrated municipal
solid waste management in the Northeastern United
States. (1996)
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Outcomes-based evaluations for
educational programs in engineering: A focus on
the construction industry (1996)
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Electricity utility conservation
programs: Empirical studies of impacts and cost-effectiveness.
(1996)
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An application of statistical
methods for modeling impacts of climate change
on the terrestrial distribution of vegetation.
(1996)
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An analysis of security incidents
on the internet. (1997)
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Evaluating the cost-effectiveness
of the title IV acid rain provisions of the 1990
Clean Air Act amendments. (1997)
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Economies of scale in information
dissemination over the internet. (1998)
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Life-cycle models of conventional
and alternative-fueled automobiles. (1998)
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Economic and sulfur removal models
for optimization of a pressurized fluid bed combustion
(PFBC) power generation system. (1998)
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Technological changes and pollution
control: An adaptive agent-based analysis. (1998)
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Pricing of integrated-services
networks. (1998)
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Studies in natural and human system
response relevant to global environmental change.
(1998)
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Designing wireless local loops
using low tier technology: An approach to providing
basic telecommunications service in less developed
countries. (1998)
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Economic and sulfur removal models
for optimization of a pressurized fluid bed combustion
(PFBC) power generation system. (1998)
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An assessment of air pollution
and environmental impacts from international maritime
transportation. (1999)
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Development and evaluation of
a risk-ranking method. (1999)
The risk of accidents and spills at
offshore production platforms: A statistical analysis
of risk factors and the development of predictive
models. (1999)
The graduate program in Engineering and Public Policy
is having impacts on the world of policy analysis
and decision making in several ways. First and most
important, many of our outstanding graduates have
become key players in that world with positions in
industry, government, and academia. Second, through
our research we are improving the practice of policy
analysis and decision making. While this research
frequently contributes to the solution of specific
problems, our motivation in selecting the topics we
address is often more general. Through our doctoral
studies we develop improved basic understanding, better
analytical tools, and generalizable insights which
support future improvements in policy research and
analysis. Research performed in EPP contributes to
an increase in knowledge and the standards of practice
among policy experts. As a result, arguments that
were state-of-the-art the last time an issue was on
the policy agenda, fall out of date and must be revised
and strengthened on the next iteration. Weaknesses
in analytic methods, which were acceptable the last
time around, become recognized, and improvements are
demanded. This gradual process of diffusion is having
substantial impacts in the policy community. Through
the Department's many involvements with key decision
makers and organizations, and through the EPP office
in Washington D.C. (located just six blocks from the
White House), students have opportunities for direct
involvement in the policy process.
| Global change is a focus
of a number of research projects in EPP
which address such issues as desertification,
melting of glaciers, sea level rise, and
habitat loss. |
All graduate students in EPP have a technical
background. As part of the Ph.D., students take
additional engineering and science courses, courses
in quantitative methods, and courses in social
science and social analysis from departments and
colleges all over the University. In addition,
EPP offers a sequence of graduate core courses
in quantitative methods and policy analysis. For
details see the Graduate Studies section under
"Academics" on the EPP web page at http://www.epp.cmu.edu.
Joint Ph.D. programs with traditional engineering
departments and with other academic units are
available.
As part of the process of preparing for the Ph.D.,
the opportunity exists to do a M.S. in EPP or
jointly between EPP and one of the five traditional
engineering departments. Except in special circumstances,
students are not admitted just for an M.S. degree.
As of the spring of 2000, EPP had graduated just
over 100 Ph.D.s.
At the undergraduate level, Engineering and Public
Policy is committed to educating students-with-a-difference,
for careers in conventional engineering. To accomplish
this, joint degree programs are offered with all
five of the University's traditional engineering
departments and with Computer Science. These programs
allow undergraduates to complete all the conventional
requirements for an engineering degree, while
also developing important skills in economics,
social analysis, history, and policy analysis.
The result is that, in addition to being first-rate
engineers, EPP B.S. graduates are able to deal
effectively with the variety of societal and policy
problems that are increasingly a part of modern
engineering practice. A Technology and Policy
minor is available for students not in engineering
or computer science. A five-year B.S./M.S. program
is available to Carnegie Mellon undergraduates.
The EPP undergraduate program began in 1970. As
of the spring of 2000, we had graduated approximately
550 double-major undergraduates.
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After completing research with
Professor Benoit Morel, former research associate
Steven Black
served as a member of the United Nations Special
Commission (UNSCOM) to supervise Chemical
Weapon destruction in Iraq. |
The faculty in Engineering and Public Policy
are a mixture of engineers and social scientists.
Because of Carnegie Mellon's unique institutional
environment, which supports and encourages interdisciplinary
research, most EPP faculty hold joint appointments
with traditional disciplinary departments. Many
are active in their traditional fields, as well
as in EPP. Jointly appointed EPP faculty regularly
involve their more traditional disciplinary colleagues
in EPP research. As a result of such collaboration,
in research as well as in undergraduate teaching
programs, the department is an integral part of
the broad fabric of engineering and social analysis
research and teaching at Carnegie Mellon.
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