About TIP

Tech Informed Policy (TIP) is an initiative spearheaded by two leading McGill researchers—Dr. Derek Ruths, Director of the Network Dynamics Lab and Associate Professor of Computer Science, and Dr. Taylor Owen, Beaverbrook Chair in Ethics, Media and Communications, Director of the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy, and Associate Professor in the Max Bell School of Public Policy. TIP aims to demystify the technology underlying critical policy issues and to provide valuable, tech-based recommendations to Canadian policymakers.

For enquiries, please contact Derek Ruths.

 

The TIP Team

 

 

 

Taylor Owen (DPhil, Oxford) is the Beaverbrook Chair in Media, Ethics and Communications and Associate Professor in the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University. He is the Director of the McGill Center for Media, Technology and Democracy, a Senior Fellow at the Center for International Governance Innovation and a Fellow at the Public Policy Forum. His work focuses on the intersection of media, technology and public policy and can be found at taylorowen.com.

 

 

Stephanie Cairns is an MSc student at McGill University in applied math and machine learning. She received her BSc (Hons.) at the University of Prince Edward Island, where she was awarded the Governor General’s Academic Medal. Stephanie aims to pursue a career that bridges technology and public policy.

 

 

Sara Parker is pursuing a BA in Political Science at McGill University. She is interested in the intersection of technology and democracy, specifically how it relates to public engagement with politics.

 

 

Ellen Rowe is a master’s student at McGill’s Max Bell School of Public Policy. She holds a BA (hons.) from Queen’s University in History and World Languages. As a policy analyst at National Defence in Ottawa, Ellen focuses on cyber security within the Government of Canada.

 

 

Derek Ruths is an Associate Professor at the School of Computer Science at McGill University. He is the Founding Director of the Centre for Social & Cultural Data Science and leads the Network Dynamics Laboratory for research on social informatics, social media analytics, and natural language processing. Derek is also the Chief Architect at a non-profit called Charitable Analytics International. He received his PhD in Computer Science from Rice University. Derek believes in the potential for computation and data analysis to support responsible, evidence-based decision making. This guides his professional work in teaching, research, entrepreneurship, and outreach.

 

 

Sonja Solomun is the Research Director of the McGill Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy and a PhD candidate in Communication Studies at McGill. Sonja works at the intersection of technology and politics, including platform governance, data justice, and the social implications of AI.

 

 

Kate Gilbert has worked extensively in graphic design and publishing. She has a passion for infographics.