Launched in January 2023, the Trust in Research Undertaken in Science and Technology (TRuST) network is a project exploring the concept of public trust in medical, technological and other scientific research that affects and benefits our everyday lives.
Studying trust is vital as it is so foundational to how we live and work together, and it is critical to the spirit of collaboration, innovation, and community that drives the research undertaken at the University of Waterloo. Recent events, including the COVID-19 pandemic and its resulting sociopolitical fallout, have thrown the issue of public trust in science sharply into focus.
This is why it is also crucial for us to engage broader communities for understanding, insight, and experience, as the very idea of trust cuts across fields of study, sectors, and societies. Trust is a relational idea that allows us to work together to address the challenges we face today and in the future.
Building on the vision of Waterloo at 100 some 34 years in the future, we take the opportunity to examine the concept of trust relating to the thousands of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and members of the Waterloo Region community and beyond who will be impacted by what is accomplished here at the University.
President Vivek Goel’s Waterloo at 100 vision demands the evaluation of foundational concepts in an ever-changing world that constantly generates new ideas, understandings, technologies, challenges, and responsibilities. Forging new collaborations at this time of flux is vital and TRuST will be a key tool in helping us do this at the University and beyond. The first step to earning public trust in science is reflecting on the practices of research and scholarship itself in a critical way, to see how we might improve and move forward more inclusively, more thoughtfully, and more collaboratively.
As we begin this research and grow our network, we are excited for the new collaborations, research, and opportunities to listen and talk about trust.
Professor Donna Strickland and Professor Ashley Rose Mehlenbacher,
Inaugural Co-Directors for TRuST,
September, 2023
Dr. Donna Strickland
Dr. Ashley Rose Mehlenbacher
Our Goal
To further understand trust and lack of trust in science and technology and to support ethically earning and sustaining trust in these domains.
Our Mission Statement
We're a network of people dedicated to better understanding why people do or don't trust scientific and technical information. It's a big issue, we know, and so we believe it is important to study the topic in all its complexity and richness. We approach this problem through a transdisciplinary approach, through practitioner experience, and a lot of asking questions and even more listening to a wide range of perspectives.
TRuST Scholarly Network
News
Democracy at a critical crossroads
TRuST lecture convenes experts to discuss disinformation's threat to democracy and how to preserve democratic values.
Dean Wells tempers the AI hype
This opinion piece by Dr. Mary Wells, dean of Waterloo Engineering, and Dr. Ashley Rose Mehlenbacher, an associate professor in the English Language and Literature department, appeared in the Hill Times, a popular news source for Canadian politics and government news.
Trust in Canada: Recent Trends in Measures of Trust
This report summarizes existing surveys and research on trust in Canada.
Events
Save the date
The next TRuST lecture will be held at the University of Waterloo on September 16th. Further details to follow.