Public Interest Technology University Network

Using technology in service of the public good.

Coming together to integrate the fields of technology, public policy, business, law, ethics, governance, and social justice into the field of Public Interest Technology, Penn’s PIT-UN initiative empowers STEM students to address major societal challenges through a cross-disciplinary, collaborative, and open dialogue approach.

ABOUT PIT-UN

The Public Interest Technology University Network (PIT-UN) is a partnership of colleges and universities committed to educating students who can better apply technical understanding and practice to questions of individual rights, justice, social welfare, and the public good, particularly for those members of our society least well served historically and today by existing systems and policies.

The Latest From PIT-UN

Blog

Can Human Systems Engineering Help Us Solve Issues of Wellness At Penn?

Penn Engineering students partnered with the SNF Paideia Program to address a contemporary challenge using the theories presented in human system engineering course. The opportunity utilized students’ classroom experience to gain a deeper understanding of current problems in order to benefit the entire Penn community. Not only did the SNF Paideia program learn from student perspectives, the partnership empowered students to exercise their citizenship at Penn by using their academic training to address issues related to student stress and wellness. Read More

Blog

Bridging Telecomm with Unconnected Communities

Nikita (Nikki) Zinzuwadia, C'22, spoke with Peter Bloom, C'05 CGS'05, about his public interest technology journey. Since 2009, Peter has been coordinating Rhizomatica, an organization he founded to promote new communication technologies in indigenous, underdeveloped, and unconnected communities. Through Rhizomatica, Peter helped start the first community-owned and managed cell phone network in the Americas in 2013.Read More

Event Recap

Public Interest Technology at Penn Inaugural Career Speaker Event

The PIT@Penn inaugural career speaker event, featuring Penn alumni with a wide range of professional experience in public interest technology, exemplifies these efforts. Anita Allen, Ani Nenkova, Sanjay Udani, and Peter Bloom shared their insights and recommendations on how to navigate a public interest technology career, emphasizing the importance of being able to dialogue across disciplines.Read More

Building with Penn sign in the midst of autumn scenery

In the News

Penn joins Public Interest Technology University Network

Through the leadership of Christopher Yoo, Penn Law professor and founding director of the Center for Technology, Innovation and… Read More

Story

Using Austerity to Foster Resiliency, Empowerment

Austerity all too often results in loss: of services, care, and hope. But austerity can be a good thing if it's used as a springboard to community projects that create a more resilient future, fundamentally transforming the relationship between local government and people.Read More

Penn PIT-UN Team

Faculty Coordinators

Faculty Staff

Michael X. Delli Carpini

Faculty Director; Oscar H. Gandy Professor of Communication and Democracy

Annenberg School for Communication

Faculty

Christopher Yoo

John H. Chestnut Professor of Law, Communication, and Computer & Information Science; Director, Center for Technology, Innovation & Competition

Steering Committee

Faculty

Paulo Arratia

Professor, and Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics Associate Chair for Undergraduate Affairs

Faculty

Ariana Chao

Assistant Professor of Nursing

Faculty

George Demiris

Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor

Faculty

Mecky Pohlschroder

Professor and Undergraduate Chair of the Biology Department

Student Representative

Sophie Roling

College of Arts and Sciences, Class of 2022

Student Representative

Kelsey Stanton

College of Arts and Sciences, Class of 2022

Faculty

Lyle Ungar

Professor of Computer and Information Science

Participate in Year of Civic Engagement.

The Year of Civic Engagement (YoCE) will continue to help students develop their civic identities and integrate it into their personal and professional lives in meaningful and fulfilling ways. This active, on-going exploration will include a wide range of opportunities such as the Penn Reading Project; involvement in university-community partnership and service; and much more.

Visit the YoCE Website