Science and Technology (S&T) indelibly shape how we conceptualize and interact with the world around us. Assessing the impact of S&T is not only a technical project, but one that requires social scientific insight. My anthropological research focuses on the norms, aspirations, and consequences of work done by expert communities as they forge new fields of knowledge and invention. My first book, Placing Outer Space: An Earthly Ethnography of Other Worlds (2016, Duke University Press), considers how “planet” is not only a cosmic concept, but also a humanistic one. My second book, In the Land of the Unreal: Virtual and Other Realities in Los Angeles (2024, Duke University Press), seeks to understand how the recent resurgence of virtual reality hinged on a belief that technology could repair rifts in reality.
Through reading, teaching, and writing, I endeavor to link conversations in sociocultural anthropology with other fields of inquiry, including science and technology studies, media studies, cultural geography, environmental humanities, and history of science and technology.
My research has been featured in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, The San Francisco Chronicle, Wired, The Atlantic, Slate, CNN, PBS, and more. I have spoken domestically and internationally at academic institutions, film festivals, and museums.