Previous Academic Projects

Ph.D. Thesis (Overview):

Greening the Dragon: Information Systems in the Eco-Environmental Governance of China



Over the past two decades, funding research into plausible solutions to eco-environmental problems in China has become a scientific and political imperative of global organizations, transnational enterprises, national bureaus, and local administrations. Central to the decision making process, at all scales of institutional governance, is the production of knowledge about the current status of eco-environmental conditions (monitoring and describing the eco-environmental present) and the development of various possible remediation strategies (modeling and predicting the eco-environmental future). However, amongst the rich scientific and political-economic work on eco-environmental governance in China (mostly focused on pollution and preservation), there is little in the way of a detailed historical accounting as to how China has built its national (State-China) and local (Urban-Beijing) capacity to monitor and model its eco-environmental status, specifically, through the use of Environmental Monitoring (EM), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and Remote Sensing (RS). The production of such a history and of currently emerging developments in national and local Environmental Information Systems (EIS) capacity will provide a foundation for comparison and critique as to how: 1) researchers in China have had their work link up in the development of "new transnational scientific and political communities"; 2) various strands of their work have been brought together into a viable local epistemic framework; and 3) particular eco-environmental representations have brought together "multiple communities of researchers, government officials, and citizens.



Through ethnographic interviews, participant observations, and archival research this study will work to answer one main question: Since 1979, how has China's scientific and technological capacity to monitor and model its urban environment developed, and in turn shaped policy initiatives and directives? An answer will be derived from the following three sub-questions: 1) How have international agreements, pressures, and collaborations shaped and influenced China's capacity and expertise in EIS? 2) How have developments in EIS capabilities and project choices been shaped by plans for the sustainable urban development of Beijing? 3) How are EIS analyses informing and directing local urban policy developments in Beijing? To answer these three questions, a detailed description of China's capacity and expertise building efforts in EIS since 1979 will need to be gathered primarily across five State run institutions in Beijing, China. These are: under the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS)-- the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences (RCEES), the State Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System (LREIS), the Institute for Remote Sensing Applications (IRSA); under State authority-- the State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), and the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Environmental Protection (BEPB). Identification of these institutions as appropriate foci for this study occurred through preliminary research in China during Summer 2004.



As proposed, this historical and contemporary study of eco-environmental governance, in the unique case of Beijing, China, is an attempt to provide a thoroughly researched accounting of the epistemic community which eco-environmental scientists and policy-makers have co-developed since the initial wave of environmental reforms in 1979. This study is designed to be beneficial to both the research community working on eco-environmental reforms in China, and of relevance to a broader audience concerned with the effects of global environmental governance on local technological, scientific, and legal systems.



The intellectual merits of this study: 1) Contribute to the historical record of the technoscience of eco-environmental management, through publications of articles and a book. 2) Enhance general knowledge about the effects of scientific collaborations and the material culture of modeling. 3) Add to sparse STS literature focused on "non-Western" engagements with science and technology. 4) Contribute to ongoing conversations about the effects of globalization on local scientific and legal systems, particularly in relation to environmental concerns. The broader impacts resulting from this study: 1) In the tradition of "anthropology as cultural critique", produce useful data and analyses to be used in comparing and critiquing (towards strengthening) eco-environmentally situated epistemic communities in China, the U.S., and Europe. 2) Produce a better sense for where and how public understanding of science and public participation can be introduced into the eco-environmental governance of China, and other rapidly developing nations.



(For more information on the thesis and my plans for China, please drop an email to one of the addresses listed in the information bar at the botton of this page.)

Center for Ethics in Complex Systems:

"The Center for Ethics in Complex Systems (CECS) conducts interdisciplinary research to address the ethical implications of technologically, biologically, and socio-economically complex systems. Using diverse analytic approaches, fellows of the Center document and analyze the ethical dilemmas that emerge with the diffusion of new scientific knowledge and new technologies. Fellows also identify the kinds of ethical action that can be mobilized in response to such dilemmas: from legal challenges to the formation of new social alliances, from new ways of designing and using technologies to organizational and cultural change. The Center's broad objective is to encourage modes of ethical action appropriate for the knowledge-driven, technological worlds in which we now live - complex worlds in which conventional ethical codes provide inadequate guidance." Taken from the front page of http://cecs.sts.rpi.edu



Since 2001, I have been working as a Research Fellow with CECS. I have produced interviews and primary data questioning the production of environmental information systems. I have also designed, developed, coded, and maintained the website for a group of 15-20 scholars with similar research interests.

Previous Personal Projects

Solidata! Films:

Solidata! Films represents my collective attempts to develop videographic content for undergraduate and graduate education. The concept is to extend teaching concepts of Science and Technology Studies and Ethnography into an interactive documentary form.



Thus far, Solidata! Films has produced a video on design practices in visual, architectural, and product design. S!F has also produced a documentary following Bill Brown, of the Surveillance Camera Players, on a surveillance camera tour of the Washington Sq. Park area of New York City.



Further information on this project can be found (in the future) at http://www.solidata.com

Ethnomedia and the Museum of Human Experience:

In its embryonic form, the Museum of Human Experience (MHE) is a growing international collective of researchers and theorists developing state of the art technical and narrative strategies for the experience of ethnographically derived situations. The overarching concept behind MHE is to develop empathic interfaces for simulating and enhancing cross-cultural sensitivities. (Currently, there is no website or open forum for this group.)

San Francisco Computer Museum Project and the Computer History Association of California:

As the general manager for the Museum from 1996-200, I had the opportunity to work with and meet some of the key people and technologies in the rise of micro-computing and the internet. Unfortunately, the museum never found enough solid funding to get off the ground before the bubble burst. Through my work with the SFCM and the CHAC, I learned how to manage large projects and interview specialists in computing--skills which have extended into my current research. I have a feeling San Francisco will someday see this, or some other, computer museum project come to fruition.


"The San Francisco Computer Museum (SFCM), will chronicle the history of computing, showcase cutting-edge technology in hands-on displays, exhibit the world's premiere computer graphics and multimedia art, and graphically depict the future directions of computer technology."


"The Computer History Association of California (CHAC) was founded out of conviction that not enough was being done to safeguard and organize the history of electronic computing, not only in California, but nationally and internationally. Until very recently, computer history has been protected by individuals and small groups at academic institutions and professional societies, by a handful of museum curators, and by the pioneering scientists and engineers themselves."

Institute for Science and Interdisciplinary Studies:

After graduating Hampshire College, I went to work (1995-96) for the Institute for Science and Interdisciplinary Studies (ISIS), which "is committed to making science more open, democratic, and responsible to and inclusive of people." At ISIS I worked on the Military Waste Cleanup Project of Westover Air Force Base (WAFB) where I served as part of a three-member team that acted as non-partial mediators between WAFB and the citizens in the form of a Restoration Advisory Board (RAB). The RAB oversaw the cleanup and consisted of representatives from both WAFB and the local community. I co-developed a rudimentary Geographic Information System for use by the RAB that mapped the groundwater test well data to their geographic locations on WAFB. To help support this project I obtained a small research grant from the Lemelson Foundation for pursuing the concept of building online maps of toxic data on military bases being restored throughout the U.S. This seven-month project was my first encounter with what it takes to make public participation in technological development and scientific policy a successful engagement. Through working with the range of people ISIS would interact with, I learned how a diverse community of people across boundaries of class and race can come together on account of their concern for common interests such as clean groundwater. In addition, I had the chance to observe how members of the community learn scientific concepts and to develop a sense for what the public can do with that knowledge. Unfortunately, after 10 years ISIS recently disbanded and was broken down into subprojects. The Milwaste project is still going strong.

Vividyne Systems Incorpus:

"Designing Exponents for Evolution" Vividyne Systems Incorpus, currently on hold, is my umbrella artificial-life networking company. Vividyne, amongst other projects, conducted expriments in the networking of plant biomes to generate virtual eco-systems. Vividyne Systems will rise from the ashes again one day in the not too distant future.

BOLT and Blasthaus:

From 1997 - 2000, I worked closely with the Bureau of Low Technology (BOLT) and Blasthaus to develop cutting-edge multimedia content for technology, art, and entertainment venues.


"Blasthaus gallery is recognized as the the first gallery space in the United States dedicated exclusively to the emerging genre of the electronic and digital arts. Founded in April 1995, the gallery has established itself as the epicenter for art and technology in the greater Bay Area and developed an international reputation for the presentation of art that incorporates technology, science and new media." (from blasthaus.com)

Smashing:

Smashing was a series of parties and events in San Francisco that were produced towards the goal of ending 20th Century nostalgia. Each of the ten monthly events, beginning in March 1999 and ending New Year's Eve 1999, represented a different decade of the 20th Century (00's-10's, 10's-20's, 20's-30's, etc.). The locations each represented a different era in San Francisco's history and participants were strongly encouraged to come in period dress. I had the good fortune of co-producing the series with my friend Kylen Campbell. The site for the series, NIGH2K.com, is no longer up. However, you can see examples of the flyer designs in the visualizations section of this site. Combined attendance to these events was approximately 2000-3000.