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Stack / Whitney Entomology, Environment and Technology Col(LAB)oratory
SWEET Co(LAB)orative
The SWEET Col(LAB)orative is an environmental studies research group who often, but not always, use insects as a lens onto broader systems. We use a range of quantitative and qualitative tools to study science and society. Global environmental problems necessitate a diverse group of minds, bodies, and lives coming together to imagine (and then achieve!) conserving and sustaining natural and human communities in ethical ways. This work is interdisciplinary and done in community, with a wide range of collaborators across disciplines and institutions.
We do this while also working to:
- create space to be our full(er) selves,
- address positionality and power in our research and teams,
- do "open" research without extraction.
We are located on unceded Seneca Nations (Onöndowa'ga) lands. Learn more here.
Latest News
- October 27, 2025
new article published
Dr. Stack Whitney, with RIT faculty, student and alum collaborators, recently published an article “Design, Disability, and Critical Pedagogy in STS" in the flagship journal Science, Technology, & Human Values. The work focuses on how (in)accessibility shapes teaching and learning in STS (science and technology studies) classrooms and courses. Read it here.
- August 5, 2025
new white paper released
Led by alum Zale P, in collaboration with Kaelyn C, Dr. Stack Whitney, and colleagues in the Bahlai Lab at Kent State University, we have released a new white paper: RIT campus bee community and pollinator habitat assessment. Read it here.
- July 8, 2025
new article published
As part of the Global Urban Evolution (GLUE) project, Dr. Stack Whitney is part of an international team that recently published a paper in Nature Ecology & Evolution on the local adaptation patterns of different white clover populations around the planet. Read it here.
- June 3, 2025
new chapter published
Dr. Stack Whitney and former col(LAB)orator Briana Burt Stringer recently published a chapter in the Palgrave Handbook of Environmental Policy and Law. Entitled 'Exploring Evidence-Based Science Policy Frameworks Using US State Pollinator Protection Plans,' it explores if and how state plans designed to protect bees and other insect pollinators are following best practices for effective policymaking. Read it here.
Research
Critical examinations of ecosystem services
Environmental science is a human endeavor, shaped by individual and institutional structures, processes, and biases. Part of my research program centers on understanding how these factors shape contemporary ecosystem service sciences.
Ableism and accessibility in biology and society
In fieldwork and informatics based work, SWEET is committed to inclusion, accessibility, and reproducibility. In particular, we focus on disability access and inclusion (or lack thereof) in open science and beyond.
