I am a Ph.D. student working at the intersections of nature, culture, science, and technology, focusing on Cold War-era United States history. Generally speaking, my research examines the entanglement of environmental perceptions and space exploration, analyzing the creation of scientific knowledge and popular notions about environments on Earth and in outer space. My dissertation, “The Places of Mars: Planetary Geologists and Environmental Knowledge on the Red Planet, 1960-1999,” examines how teams of US geologists transformed environmental perceptions of Mars to make it a uniquely scientific place. As they adapted methods of geological field practices for use by robotic spacecraft, they turned the surfaces of Mars into field sites and laboratories that offered unique opportunities to examine nature in situ.

I am also committed to the practices of public history, focusing on theories and methods such as memory and narrative, space and place, oral history, and material culture. While these are not all unique to the field of public history or even history more broadly, their use by historians helps guide my research. More generally, I believe the subfield offers important lessons and exciting opportunities for understanding the value of history for various communities, and I hope to spend my future career engaging in community-oriented public historical work. Overall, I believe public history not only makes my work more accessible to broader audiences while remaining academically rigorous, it also offers opportunities to understand how different communities think about history and how historians can play a role in sharing in that understanding. 

Advisor: Patrick McCray

Committee Members:

See Attached CV →