Siddhartha Roy: Science in service to the public good
Siddhartha Roy: 让科学服务于大众
Siddhartha Roy is an environmental engineer and science communicator who works at the nexus of water quality, public health and environmental justice. He and his team helped uncover the Flint, Michigan Water Crisis. Full bio
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the leaders dished out advice.
I will never forget.
I really was at the time,
in graduate school
我开始念研究生的时候,
actions of scientists and engineers
福林市饮用水危机中
会带来多大的危险,
and yet surprisingly common
最为臭名昭著的
egregious environmental injustices
including thousands of young children,
铅浓度严重超标。
drinking water with high levels of lead.
and developmental disabilities
尤其有害。
to growing fetuses and young children.
since the Roman Empire.
就知道铅的危害。
Legionnaires' disease.
of underground pipes --
is slowly improving
when an emergency manager,
任命了一名临时管理者,
当地河流取水。
to a local river to save money.
at government agencies
and in the federal government
做好饮用水处理。
for treating the water right.
并合谋掩盖真相。
and orchestrated cover-ups.
流出来的棕色发臭的水
smelly water coming out of the tap
整个系统都失效了
and federal levels completely failed
只能自我保护。
was left to fend for itself.
福林市居民开始团结起来。
Flint residents were rallying together.
amazing women of Flint --
many grassroots coalitions,
要求改变。
and demanding change.
外部科学家的帮助,
to outside scientists for help,
科学家,
named Miguel Del Toral,
一位水资源专家
the Environmental Protection Agency --
and the federal government
研究团队,
学生和科学家团体,
led by professor Marc Edwards,
确实被污染了,
was indeed contaminated,
好几个月的事情,
had been screaming for months,
让全世界看见。
for the world to see.
都被证明是值得的。
has been totally worth it.
in service to the public.
to graduate school for,
spend my life.
和科学家组成的联盟——
pastors, journalists and scientists --
辩论技术和行动主义。
using science, advocacy and activism.
儿童铅中毒病例
lead poisoning had indeed doubled
to acknowledge the problem
让福林的孩子得到保护。
got Flint's kids protected.
联邦紧急救助基金,
and declared a federal emergency,
六亿美元
more than 600 million dollars
their water infrastructure.
科学家和工程师
disregard for public health
傲慢和冷漠无情
at these government agencies
在溃烂和化脓,
that are festering in these groups,
检查收件箱
regulations and checking boxes
that an EPA employee wrote,
我们是否想帮助。”
we want to go out on a limb for."
再明显不过。
could not be more obvious.
第一信条,
canon of engineering,
the first law of humanity:
safety and welfare of the public,"
我们很少人知道,
we've rarely acknowledged,
就像是医生一样,
very much like medical doctors,
学生没有能够做到,
students fail to get that,
深深掩埋的角色——
a character I deeply admire --
极端的诚实
for his radical honesty
存在的主要缺陷
in the Soviets' mindless pursuit
coming from the top.
or offering feedback was unwelcome.
工程师团队,
of engineers the world had ever seen,
巨大机器里的一个齿轮。
in a gigantic machine heading for doom.
implored engineers
政治和社会的影响;
and social consequences of their actions;
was seen as a threat
had him executed in 1929.
is very different
非常的不同——
still very common --
在象牙塔中做研究,
working in his ivory tower lab,
摆弄他的试管。
working in his cubicle.
from "Star Trek," you know?
because a recent article came out
是因为最近一篇文章
“青年理想主义”,
as driven by "youthful idealism,"
不管原因是否正义,
their research funding and institutions
how just the cause.
一些事件,
involved in something,
of the academic community --
和作为专业人士的责任
and professional obligation
all this expertise,
都需要成为活动家。
should be an activist.
非常痛苦的结果。
consequences of speaking up.
this possibility so completely
一定不是这样的思想。
we would want to pass to our students.
”好吧,听起来很棒,
"OK, all this sounds great,
组织的文化,
organizational cultures,
植入这样的观念
and professionals
our students right?
更加注重培养
is focused more on creating
说的“优秀的绵羊”——
calls "excellent sheep" --
timid, directionless
when we were kids,
花费大部分时间
during high school and college
so that we can polish our résumé
想要成为的人。
and who we want to be.
高校研究生中
in our college graduates
大幅度减少,
in the past two decades,
of disengagement
and the public.
解决复杂问题,
and solve complex problems
公民生活和思考。
or be a citizen of this world.
找工作的准备期,
were explicit job preparation,
多么痛苦和令人窒息。
and painful it was at times.
工程师和科学家的方法
to great engineers, to great scientists,
涉及伦理的决策,
on ethical decision-making,
一个项目。
that I deeply love and admire.
适龄儿童
school-going children around the world
as heroes-in-waiting,
磨练自己的意志和技能,
to develop skills and virtues
引入这样的方法——
and engineering like that --
核心利益,
are seen as key values,
to public indifference,
罪恶的解毒剂。
like we saw in Flint.
可能成为的样子:
slash engineer could look like:
to master the sciences
决策的重要;
their knowledge and decisions have;
发展自己的精神勇气,
their moral courage at all times,
and controversy
地球和人类的福祉。
is to the public and the planet.
一样挺身而出——
stand up like we did in Flint --
利他主义的好人。
actors that you and I can trust.
思维模式,
such a public-focused mindset
在活动中、
and during activities
在进入社会时,
will hold onto those ideals
academia, policy making --
the president of a country.
最伟大的挑战;
challenges lie ahead of us;
其中一例。
is just one example.
充满激情的杰出的人
compassionate upstanders
科学家和工程师
scientists and engineers
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Siddhartha Roy - Environmental engineerSiddhartha Roy is an environmental engineer and science communicator who works at the nexus of water quality, public health and environmental justice. He and his team helped uncover the Flint, Michigan Water Crisis.
Why you should listen
Perennially distracted, Siddhartha Roy has spent the last five years studying failures in drinking water infrastructure (leaky pipes), lamenting the way the water industry communicates with the American public and writing about the rise of perverse incentives in research academia. He also serves as the Student Leader of the research team that used citizen science, laboratory experiments, field sampling, investigative journalism and social media to expose the Flint Water Crisis. These efforts led to a declaration of a national public health emergency by President Barack Obama in January 2016, garnered more than $600 million in relief for Flint residents and informed a long overdue debate on "safe" water in America.
Roy is incredulous that quoting a free conference T-shirt in 2014 made him the "Future of Water." He has taken a step back and is now merely a "Rising Star of the Water Industry." He suspects Virginia Tech awarded him their 2017 Graduate Student of the Year award not for his "selfless service contributions and commitment to citizen scholarship," as they claim, but to deter him from spending long hours at cafes staring into space and get back in the laboratory instead. Roy also specializes in speaking with reporters for hours and ensuring only his cusswords get quoted, like this WIRED magazine piece. Grist.org’s Chip Giller notes that Roy "speaks with conviction, passion, and focus" but had Giller paid close attention, he would not have missed Roy’s talents as an accomplished "lead magician."
Roy grew up in India and is currently a PhD candidate in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech. Find out more about his work and writings here.
Siddhartha Roy | Speaker | TED.com