UW Friday Harbor Labs accepts applications from the university community to conduct research on the San Juan Island campus.
In November 2025, Society + Technology at UW hosted a pilot writing retreat at the UW Friday Harbor Laboratories and the Whiteley Center. The retreat brought together eight faculty and researchers affiliated with the initiative for writing time and cross-disciplinary exchanges as they worked on independent projects focused on the social, societal, and justice aspects of technology.
While the structure prioritized uninterrupted work time, there were also opportunities for connection and through shared meals in the Friday Harbor Labs dining hall, and optional social activities — including fireside conversations, writing workshops, hiking, and bowling.
Participants in the S+T at UW 2025 Friday Harbor Writing Retreat from left to right, back row: Ryan Calo, Anissa Tanweer, Lisa Hoffman, Gabriel Solis, Shannon Cram, Jason Young, and Leah Ceccarelli; front row: Monika Sengul-Jones and Sucheta Ghoshal.
Participants included Anissa Tanweer (eScience, UW Seattle), Gabriel Solis (Music, UW Seattle), Jason Young (Information, UW Seattle), Leah Ceccarelli (Communication, UW Seattle), Lisa Hoffman (Urban Studies, UW Tacoma), Ryan Calo (Law, UW Seattle), Shannon Cram (IAS, UW Bothell), and Sucheta Ghoshal (HCDE, UW Seattle).
One of the goals of the pilot was to trial a convening format that supports slower scholarship, cross-campus relationship-building, and opportunities for focus. Participants were also invited to provide feedback on the retreat and other S+T at UW community programming, to inform future convenings.
Society + Technology at UW’s community of affiliates expands with a new community partner, the Seattle University Technology Ethics Initiative.
Directed by Professor Onur Bakiner (SU, Political Science), whose research and teaching focus on technology and society, the Seattle University Technology Ethics initiative seeks to bring together students, faculty, practitioners, and community members to explore how technologies shape power, accountability, and the public good.
This cross-institutional partnership indexes a shared commitment to cross-disciplinary collaboration and to creating spaces where open conversations about technology, society, and justice can flourish across institutions and communities.
Society + Technology at UW welcomes interest from community organizations, nonprofits, and industry groups who see value in what we’re building and would like to be part of it. To learn more about joining the Society + Technology at UW affiliate circle, email mmjones@uw.edu.
We’re thrilled to announce that the University of Washington Press has joined Society + Technology at UW as a community partner.
A national leader in publishing, UW Press contributes to the University of Washington’s research, education, and outreach missions by bringing vital new work to a global audience of scholars, students, and intellectually curious readers. From Indigenous studies and environmental history to feminist technosciences, the press’s areas of focus include fields that shape how we think about the societal dimensions of technology. The new partnership reflects a shared commitment to advancing cross-disciplinary perspectives and connecting scholarship to broader publics.
As we build an initiative focused on cross-disciplinarity and public dialogue, we’re excited about the possibility of collaboration with UW Press on future programming, including events, publications, and more.
Society + Technology at UW welcomes interest from community organizations, nonprofits, and industry groups who see value in what we’re building and would like to be part of it. To learn more about joining the Society + Technology at UW affiliate circle, email mmjones@uw.edu.
Crossposting the UW Communication’s Center for Journalism, Media, and Democracy (CJMD)’s article about “Technology for the People,” a Society + Technology at UW (S+T) salon co-hosted with CJMD.
From left to right: Salon co-host and co-sponsor Monika Sengul-Jones (S+T, Tech Policy Lab), Esther Jang (Computer Science, UW Seattle), Divya C. McMillin (Global Media Studies, UW Tacoma), co-host and co-sponsor Adrienne Russell (Communication, CJMD), Carmen Gonzalez (Communication, UW Seattle), and Dharma Dailey (Computing & Software Systems, UW Bothell).
On April 12, 2025, Society + Technology at UW co-hosted ‘Technology for the People,’ a salon that brought together prominent voices from all three UW campuses in the technology, media, and communication fields to discuss efforts to promote digital equity and information access in the Puget Sound region.
The event featured speakers across multiple disciplines: Dharma Dailey (Computing & Software Systems, UW Bothell), Carmen Gonzalez (Communication, UW Seattle), Esther Jang (Computer Science, UW Seattle), and Divya C. McMillin (Global Media Studies, UW Tacoma). The salon was co-hosted and co-sponsored with CJMD and the Tech Policy Lab.
Salon co-hosts Monika Sengul-Jones (Director of Strategy & Operations, S+T) and Adrienne Russell (co-director, CJMD) emphasized the importance of the salons as creating a space for cross-disciplinary connection.
“This was a fantastic conversation that really showcased the deeply important and engaged work on how digital technologies are developed and used [that] UW researchers are doing across campuses and disciplines,” Russell said.
“The impulse behind this, the reason to host it, is because the biggest challenges of our time–such as how to grapple with inequalities and the role of technologies and media ownership–are best addressed through cross-disciplinary conversations,” Sengul-Jones added.
Salons are part of Society + Technology at UW’s community programming, which aims to explore a variety of issues and perspectives on emerging technologies. Salons are presented as intellectual discussions to cultivate meaningful collaborations among S+T affiliates and community members.
“This salon was proof of concept for this format, and is one of several Society + Technology at UW community programs that I’m leading to foster conversation,” said Sengul-Jones. “What made this salon a success was both cross-disciplinarity and intergenerational form. Everyone had slightly different disciplinary homes and methods for asking similar questions.”
Part of that success was the audience’s enthusiastic participation in the discussion. The salon hosted a diverse audience of over 100 registrants–from graduate students and faculty, to government workers, and more.
“Many in the audience were curious, concerned citizens coming to gain insight from our university,” Sengul-Jones said. “I see the salon as a service to our public.” It was an event, as the salon’s title suggests, “for the people.”
“It’s easy to forget in this current moment that technologies are made by people and they could be made and used in ways that support rather than undermine our connections to one another,” Russell said. “It is particularly important at this current political moment–when the tech industry is directly implicated in attacks on democracy–that we open up space to talk about not just what is happening, but also about how we might create technologies and tech systems that support rather than break communities and publics.”
