Current Appointment
Sustainability Fellow, Cornell University Society for the Humanities
Visiting Research Fellow, CENHS @ Rice University
Specialization
ethnographic design and methods, research analysis, grantwriting, database management, metaphor design
Areas of Expertise
affect and public culture, energy development, sustainable development, infrastructure, gender & reproductive health, social & environmental policy
Education
PhD in Social Anthropology
The University of Texas at Austin, 2014
MA in the Social Sciences
The University of Chicago, 2005
BA cum laude in International Studies
Southwestern University, 2002
Research Experience
Research Fellow, Rice University, 2014-Present
Authored book manuscript, Unruly Energies, a study of the possibilities for public participation in Germany’s renewable energy transition
Carried out research on cultures of hydraulic fracturing in the Eagle Ford Shale Play of South Texas
Ph.D. Candidate, UT Austin, 2007-2014
Longitudinal study of wind, solar and biofuel development in coastal northern Germany, consisting of interviews with 40 stakeholders, participant observation, and archival research over several research trips, including 13 months of continuous fieldwork from 2010-2011
Research Assistant, Department of Anthropology, UT Austin
Archival research on affect and public culture in the United States, resulting in jointly-authored publication for New Formations with Kathleen Stewart
M.A. Candidate, The University of Chicago, 2004-2005
Carried out urban ethnographic research on gentrification and religious life in Chicago’s Milwaukee Avenue corridor, including participant observation at community events, life history interviews with 10 research subjects, and archival research
Research Assistant, Department of History, University of Chicago, Spring 2005
Translation of German-language archival documents from the 18th century
Fulbright Scholar, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, 2002-2003
Researched and analyzed source material pertaining to medieval women’s religious movements of Central Europe
Teaching Experience
Visiting Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Southwestern University
Anthropology of Energy (upper-level seminar in Anthropology & Environmental Studies)
Introduction to Anthropology
Teaching Assistant, UT Austin, 2009-2012
Expressive Culture
Introduction to European Studies
Social Inequality, Health & Policy
Anthropology of Religion
Additional Work Experience
Graduate Web Administrator, Department of Anthropology, UT Austin, 2007-2008
Managed web presence for a large academic department
Designed individual faculty webpages
Program & Directory Assistant, National Association of Women Lawyers, 2005-2006
Managed all aspects of continuing legal education event planning, from programming to facilitation
Carried out multiple fundraising campaigns with Fortune 500 companies
Managed all aspects of compilation, publication and distribution of a 2,000-member database for a national professional association
Selected Fellowships and Awards
Carson Writing Fellowship
Rachel Carson Center For Environment and Society, Munich, 2017
Humanities Initiative Postdoctoral Fellowship (declined)
Central European University, Budapest 2015
Finalist, Student Paper Prize
Society for the Anthropology of Europe (AAA), 2014
Mellon-CES Dissertation Completion Fellowship
Council for European Studies, 2014-2015
Hogg Endowed Continuing Fellowship
The University of Texas, 2012-2013
Dissertation Fieldwork Grant
Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, 2010-2011
Liberal Arts Graduate Research Fellowship
The University of Texas, 2009
DAAD Graduate Scholarship
German Academic Exchange Service, 2010-2011
Fulbright Scholarship
Institute for International Education, 2002-2003
Professional Activities & Memberships
American Anthropological Association (AAA)
Society for Social Studies of Science (4S)
AAA General Anthropology Division, Program Chair, 2018-Present
AAA Committee on the Anthropology of Science, Technology & Computing
Co-Chair, 2013-2016
Blog Contributor
Skills
Methods
participant observation; interviews; life histories; arts-based research; survey methods; network analysis; discourse analysis
Software
GIS, DevonThink, Photoshop, HTML/CSS, WordPress 4.2, MS Office Suite, MS Access
Languages
German (proficient), East Frisian Low German (conversant), French (conversant), Spanish (beginner)