Associate Professor of Environmental History and Policy
- PhD, History and Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, 1996
- MS, Applied History, Carnegie Mellon University, May 1992
- MA, Professional Writing, Carnegie Mellon University, May 1985.
- BS, Electric Power Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, May 1979.
Biography
I use history as a lens through which to examine the interaction of technological innovation, policy choices, and uses of the environment, with the goal being to inform efforts to construct an economy that rewards sustainable practices. My most recent project involved an examination of society’s changing interactions with the nitrogen cycle:
The Story of N: A Social History of the Nitrogen Cycle and the Challenge of Sustainability. Rutgers University Press, 2013
In a previous project, I examined corporate efforts to address pollution concerns in various sectors (extraction, transportation, and refining) of the petroleum industry:
Redefining Efficiency: Pollution Concerns, Regulatory Mechanisms, and Technological Change in the U.S. Petroleum Industry. University of Akron Press, 2001
At Michigan Tech, I teach courses in which students examine how policy choices, market forces, and technological innovations interact, shaping our relationships with each other and the rest of nature. Courses include: U.S. Environmental History, Global Environmental History; Science, Technology, and Society; and the Societal Implications of Nanotechnology.
Fields
- Environmental History and Policy
- History of Technology
- History of Science
- Business History
Research Interests
- The governance of technological systems and uses of the environment.
- The political ecology of energy.