Elizabeth Corley

Faculty spotlight Elizabeth Corley School of Public Affairs ASU Professor Elizabeth Corley is Lincoln Professor of Public Policy, Ethics & Emerging Technologies and an Associate Professor in Arizona State University’s School of Public Affairs. Her recent research involves examining the perceptions of the public and scientists in the growing debate over regulating nanotechnology – a global industry with wide-ranging potential applications. Read more about that study here. Corley’s expertise is focused in the areas of environmental policy and science policy. Within the area of environmental policy, she is particularly interested in the design and implementation of environmental management systems for the public sector. Within science policy, her research focuses on the design and implementation of policy frameworks for emerging technologies (most recently, nanotechnology).

Elizabeth Corley Assoc Professor School Of Public Affairs View Short Bio | View Full Bio

Do you have a question for Corley about her research or her work in ASU’s School of Public Affairs?

Submit your questions here:

Question:

What made you decide to focus your recent research in this particular field (nanotechnology)?

Answer:

I’m interested in the design and implementation of policy frameworks for nanotechnology because nanotech is an emerging technology that is characterized by a high degree of scientific uncertainty.  In cases like this (where the risks of a technology are largely unknown), policy makers often rely on politics, the expertise of scientists, and public values when they make decisions about regulating the technology. In the case of nanotechnology, decision-makers have to think about designing regulations that will protect the public from the potential risks of technology and, at the same time, allow beneficial research to move forward.  

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Question:

Why do you feel this research is especially important?

Answer:

Given that the potential risks and benefits of nanotechnology are largely unknown, it is important (and difficult) for decision-makers to design policy frameworks that protect the public while also allowing research to move forward in the field.  Emerging technologies like nanotechnology often create difficult policy-making environments because we cannot wait until the science is all known (and the risks are all known) before we adopt regulations to protect the public from those risks.  We have to figure out how to do both at the same time.

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Question:

What was the most exciting part of this project?

Answer:

So far, I think that the most exciting part of this project has been exploring how the public and the leading U.S. nano-scientists think about the risks and benefits of nanotechnology.  The perceptions of both of these groups (the public and scientists) are important for policy-making, but we have found in our research that they tend to think about the issue of nanotechnology quite differently. We have outlined these differences in our 2008 article in Nature Nanotechnology and in our 2009 article in Journal of Nanoparticle Research.

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Question:

What’s the next step in your research regarding public attitudes toward nanotechnology?

Answer:

Over the next 12 months, through the Center for Nanotechnology in Society (CNS-ASU), we will conduct another national-level survey of public attitudes about nanotechnology to explore how public perceptions and knowledge levels about nanotechnology are evolving over time.  

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Question:

What other research projects are you working on now or planning for the future?

Answer:

Another key project that I’m working on is related to the design and implementation of environmental management systems (EMSs) in the public sector.  Environmental management systems are voluntary regulatory frameworks that organizations can adopt to go above and beyond the existing regulations.  The ISO 14001 framework is one example of an EMS that many people have heard about in industry.  These management systems are traditionally more widely adopted in the private sector, but I’m interested in the incentives and benefits that drive public sector organizations to adopt them.  Specifically, I’m working with Eric Welch at University of Illinois-Chicago to explore the motivators and barriers for the adoption of EMSs among public wastewater facilities in the U.S.  

Short bio:

Professor Corley is currently the Principal Investigator for the external evaluation of the NSF-funded Learning in Formal and Informal Environments (LIFE) Center and serves as a Co-Principal Investigator for the NSF-funded Center for Nanotechnology in Society at Arizona State University (CNS-ASU).

Her published research has appeared in book chapters and peer-reviewed journals, including Review of Policy Research, Research Policy, Evaluation & Program Planning, Evaluation Review, Policy Studies, Journal of Technology Transfer, Society & Natural Resources, Journal of Agricultural & Environmental Ethics, Research in Higher Education, Environmental Science & Technology, Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, Scientometrics, Social Science Journal, Journal of Nanoparticle Research, Public Administration, and Nature Nanotechnology.

Professor Corley received three engineering degrees and a Ph.D. in Public Policy from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Before joining ASU, she held teaching and research positions at Georgia Tech, Bucknell University, and Columbia University.