CAREER: Globalizing Nuclear Emergency Response: Challenges for Interdisciplinary Engagement and International Expertise

Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University, Blacksburg VA

Investigators

Abstract

Over the course of this five-year, young investigator award, the PI will investigate the prospects and problems of creating a global nuclear emergency response through an integrated research, education, and outreach program. The PI will generate a comprehensive map of existing nuclear disaster response experts and will bring these experts into conversation with each other through an international workshop and a cycle of interrelated graduate seminars. The PI will also investigate the historical dimensions of nuclear emergency expertise, to formulate and disseminate conclusions about what policies work (or don't), and to discover what types of expertise were used, needed, and valued in actual emergencies. This goal synthesizes lessons from past nuclear incidents and disasters, Cold War civil defense, and homeland security preparations for "dirty bombs." Under her supervision, students will engage in an oral history project with nuclear emergency responders to preserve a record of their experiences. This project will contribute to upper division undergraduate and graduate curriculum for nuclear engineering and graduate work in Science and Technology Studies whereby students will engage in policy-relevant research and active, reflexive learning, including developing publicly accessible web resources.