Ohio State Battelle Center believes in an innovative learning process that helps students not only learn new material, but experience what it means to put that material into action.
Our classes are built to help students grow beyond the classroom setting and learn about the broader implications and contexts of the subject. We challenge students to take what they have learned in their previous classes as well as what they learn in our class and apply it to challenges in science and technology for the betterment of humanity. Through lectures, design challenges, and incredible guest speakers, students learn how to turn their science into actionable plans. Whether taking a single class or earning the Science and Engineering in the Public Interest Minor, students gain valuable skills and experience in our classes.
PUBAFRS 2620: Science, Engineering and Technology Policy for the Public's Interest
Where Policy and Science Meet
This survey course is a great introduction to the Science and Engineering in the Public Interest Minor. A 3 credit hour course that will teach you the ins and outs of the policy world and how science and policy connect and affect one another.
Take a chance at something new and learn how to translate complex scientific data for policy makers who often don't have the background to understand the numbers. Practice creating a narrative around your ideas and data to make compelling arguments for the policy and science that will change the world around us.
PUBAFRS 3620 US Space Policy and the Global Space Economy
The Politics of the Stars
Space is more than astronauts, rockets, and science experiments. The political nature of space has a large impact in shaping what space means to the world.
Whether it is the military use of space, commercial space flight regulations, or funding the science and engineering required to reach the stars, the policy aspect of space continues to matter.
Learn how space finds its way into the hands of policy makers and practice creating new policy ideas that can help bring this innovative industry into the next chapter of its existence.
PUBAFRS 5620 Rapid Innovation for Public Impact
The Ultimate Experiential Learning
This course will land you on a team of students with different majors to tackle a wicked-problem that will require you and your teammates to come together to find a solution. Challenges are provided by government and non-profit sponsors for you and your team to learn how to attack wicked-problems by doing it.
Interview subject matter experts to learn more about the challenges, learn how to formulate new ideas, test them, and then come up with the next idea as you and your team work towards providing a solution by the end of the semester.
This course is a great opportunity to challenge yourself, gain new skills, and learn what it takes to innovate in the real world.
Science and Engineering in the Public Interest Minor
A minor with major implications
Science and Engineering can shape and inform Public Policy and the way that society tackles its complex challenges. The other direction is also true: Public Policy shapes both the content and the way that Science and Engineering are accomplished. To be successful in technical industries, you will need to know more than the science. You also need to understand the context in which science and engineering are undertaken and how policy-makers can change everything.
This minor gives you the chance to become an advocate for the science and technology that can change the world. Learn how to translate your data to let more people understand its importance, anticipate the effects of the latest science so you can avoid unintended consequences, and innovate the latest ideas to solve wicked problems.
PUBAFRS 2620
That is what was great about this class. Learning about how policy in government and businesses have shaped the actual science being done and vice versa has allowed me a greater understanding of the real world.
PUBAFRS 3620
The course not only broadened my knowledge in space policy, but improved my writing skills, critical thinking and pushed me to think outside the box on potential policy issues.
PUBAFRS 5620
By far this has been one of the best classes I’ve taken to the point I don’t consider it a class but 16 weeks of legitimately stimulating problem solving and life lessons.
