Director
NSEC: Center for Nanotechnology in Society
University of California
Santa Barbara
CA, 93106
United States
PH: +1 (805) 893-3350
Fax: +1 (805) 893-7995
Email: harthorn@cns.ucsb.edu
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Background
Barbara Herr Harthorn, PhD is Director and Principal Investigator of the NSF
Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center: Center for Nanotechnology in Society
and Associate Professor of Feminist Studies, Anthropology and Sociology at University
of California at Santa Barbara. Prof. Harthorn also leads an Interdisciplinary
Research Group (IRG 7) and serves on the Executive Committee of the NSF/EPA
University of California Center for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology
(UC CEIN), http://cein.cnsi.ucla.edu/.
Prof. Harthorn leads IRG 3 in the CNS which is focused on public, expert and
media views on nanotechnologies' risks and IRG 7 in the UC CEIN which
conducts research more specifically on public views of environmental risks of
nanomaterials. Her current work in the CNS-UCSB examines how both experts and
diverse US and comparative UK publics view the risks and benefits of emerging
nanotechnologies. Her team uses a mixed set of qualitative and quantitative
methods to study public deliberation of nanotechnologies for health, energy
and environment and to identify drivers of nanotech risk perception among people
who vary by social position (e.g., by gender, race, class, education, age),
and across different nanotechnology applications such as energy and health.
Harthorn is also conducting collaborative survey research on international nanotech
industry Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) practices and views on risks
(2006, and in progress 2009).
Prof. Harthorn is particularly interested in:
- How people's social position and past experiences of discrimination
affect their emergent attitudes toward new technologies
- Risk perception attenuation and amplification
- Investigating new methods for enhanced public participation in
deliberation contexts by women and people of color
- Exploring means for equitable technological development so that
new technologies' capabilities will work to reduce rather than exacerbate
global inequality
- Engaging social science research in the national and international
pursuit of responsible technological development