Tag: history of technology
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Science vs. Technology Smackdown: Have We Survived the 1950s?
On a recent trip to Mexico I had a conversation that totally perplexed me about my academic life and work. An accomplished scholar from Europe asked me if I, as a historian of science, ever considered reading anything in the history of technology. “Yes, of course,” was my answer. She followed up with something like,…
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Wikileaks and Information Control
As a historian of science and technology, I am fascinated by Wikileaks. But I’m also guilty of benefiting from it as a scholar, because I’ve used the cables for research in my work, much in the same way that I’ve used the Pentagon Papers for research. As a scholar, it’s impossible to resist punching keywords…
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My O'Sullivan Memorial Lecture on nuclear technology is now online
Back in November, I wasn’t sure if anyone would mind that I used Wikileaks for historical research. Some might have called it unpatriotic. But I should have expected that no one seemed to mind (or care?). I did it because I was about to give a lecture on the promotion of nuclear technology, and found…
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Finding Perspective on Nuclear Concerns
This was the cover story in my local paper, part of the flurry of media attention about my work after the Fukushima disaster. I had very mixed emotions about gaining such local notoriety (something any scholar enjoys, especially when kids see their dad on the front page of the paper!), when the real hardship and…
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Nuclear historian: 'Science without history is just ignorance'
Complete with mushroom cloud, this piece about my work appeared in the online edition of KATU Portland. It is based on a press release about Fukushima and my work. It has been interesting to see this story make its way around the web and be edited in the most minor ways to be published as…
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Impact of Radiation on Ocean Water may be Seen in Long Term
Recently I was interviewed by a reporter for the China-focused newspaper The Epoch Times to discuss the Fukushima incident. Here is the article, with a link to the whole thing (free to read): — Since the first explosion occurred at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on March 12, steam and smoke carrying radioactive…
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What will our Energy Legacy Be?
I recently wrote an opinion piece for The Oregonian, in response to the nuclear crisis in Fukushima, Japan. Here is the start of it (with a link to the rest of it, which you can read for free). Comments appreciated! The earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis in Japan is a potent reminder of how vulnerable…
Jacob Darwin Hamblin 