HSA Science, Technology, and Society Candidate Research Talk, Vincent Ialenti
November 13, 2025 3:30–4:30 p.m.
Add to CalendarLocation
Shanahan Center, B450
320 E. Foothill Blvd.
Claremont, CA 91711
Contact
Valerie Jusay
vjusay@hmc.edu
909.621.8022
Details
Finalists for the position of assistant professor of science, technology, and society will present a research talk.
Vincent Ialenti, PhD in sociocultural anthropology, Cornell University, will discuss "Nuclear Waste Governance and Long-term Institutional Planning."
How do institutions plan for environmental security futures they will never see? How do bureaucratic artifacts elicit paradoxes that persist beyond their creators, subtly mediating the time horizons of long-term human-ecological security? This talk explores how spectral infrastructures of nuclear waste governance absorb sociopolitical inertias, technocratic rubrics, toxic material aftermaths, budgeting logics, and community-level public feedback to render fragile models of future societies, bodies, and ecosystems. Drawing on fieldwork among Finland’s spent nuclear fuel repository safety assessors, U.S. nuclear weapons waste managers, and billionaire-funded Silicon Valley technoculturists, it tracks how Promethean aesthetics of technocratic optimism and systems resilience are mobilized as implicit reassurances of long-term institutional continuity. Of special interest is how ghost protocols—residual program architectures of past technopolitical compromises—linger in liminal spaces just beyond immediate perception, subtly constraining institutional agency by shaping the boundaries of what can be said, planned, or imagined. Studying them ethnographically reveals how bureaucratic legacy-making collides with the uncertainties of geophysical time, regulatory entropy, and sociopolitical volatility to endow planetary hazard governance with trans-temporal legitimacy. This nexus has provided a compass for the job candidate to implement his anthropological expertise as a U.S. Department of Energy official, as a transdisciplinary STS scholar, and as a public intellectual featured by Scientific American, BBC, Forbes, NPR, and other outlets.
This event is for: faculty, staff, students
faculty, staff, studentsCommunity Connections events provide opportunities for HMC faculty, students and staff to cultivate community, foster open conversations and share important information as together we live out our mission and shape the future of the College.
Calendars
Students, faculty, and staff are invited to connect with President Nembhard this semester to share ideas, discuss projects and initiatives, talk about the College’s strategic plan, raise issues affecting the community, or simply connect.
To request a meeting, please choose a preferred slot on this link. Submitting a request does not guarantee an appointment. A member of the President’s Office will follow up with next steps.
Please note:
- Groups should be limited to no more than five people.
- Requests are reviewed as they are received and are subject to change.
The IA lab for Emerging Health Technology and Department of Biology present an Industry Career Talk by
Jonathan Striepen
Senior Scientist, Cell Engineering and Analytical Sciences, Johnson and Johnson
Striepen will discuss how studying esoteric cell biology can be translated to cell engineering for industrial drug production.
This Community Connections event provides a casual way for students, faculty and staff to come together and enjoy refreshments, meet their fellow community members, and get to know each other better. Hosted by the Cabinet.
Location: Galileo Foyer and Hixon Courtyard.
All are welcome to stop by as schedules allow.
Details
Following the Boba and Coffee Break event, the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) Committee will host a town hall meeting for students, faculty, and staff.
All are welcome to attend as schedules allow.
Details
The Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) Committee will host a town hall meeting for students, faculty, and staff to share results from the recent Higher Education Data Sharing (HEDS) Sense of Community Survey.
All are welcome to attend as schedules allow.
Faculty and community members host informal two-hour mahjong workshops / office hours in the Sprague Art Gallery as part of the exhibition “Mahjong and Its Cultural Forms” organized by HMC professor Jia Yi Gu and Angie Lin of Mahjong Mistresses. These sessions will offer students, faculty, staff and community members a chance to drop in, learn the basics of mahjong, practice playing and spend time together around the table. Partnership with 5C Board Club TBC.
Welcome back, student employees!
Kick off the new academic year with HR! Join us to meet the HR team, learn where to find us and connect with the people who are here to support you throughout your student employment experience. Stop by for food, swag and fun crafts as we welcome you back and show our appreciation for all that you do.
“Dirichlet’s Theorem and the Rise of Analytic Number Theory”
In 1837, Peter Dirichlet proved the following theorem: If a and d are relatively prime integers, then the arithmetic progression a, a+d, a+2d, . . . contains infinitely many prime numbers. His proof ushered in a revolution in number theory because it relied in a critical way on complex analysis. The use of analytic methods to solve problems in number theory was a tremendous innovation at the time. We will consider some of the details of Dirichlet’s proof, focusing on understanding why there is a deep connection between these seemingly unrelated branches of mathematics. Throughout, we will be more concerned with the ideas underlying the proof than we will with presenting an excessive amount of technical detail.
Faculty and community members host informal two-hour mahjong workshops / office hours in the Sprague Art Gallery as part of the exhibition Mahjong and Its Cultural Forms organized by HMC professor Jia Yi Gu and Angie Lin of Mahjong Mistresses. These sessions will offer students, faculty, staff and community members a chance to drop in, learn the basics of mahjong, practice playing and spend time together around the table. Partnership with 5C Board Club TBC.
Are you excited about deploying technology to improve human health? Are you interested in securing a summer internship in biotechnology or bioengineering? If yes, this Emerging Health Technology career panel is for you! Come hear from four fabulous current Mudd students on their experience working at Amgen, Medtronic, Janux, as well as collaborating with the Centers for Disease Control.
They’ll talk about how they secured these internships, what they learned, and give you advice on how you might pursue similar opportunities. RSVP here to make sure we order enough pizza!
As part of HMC’s ongoing commitment to emergency preparedness and safety, the Office of Emergency Preparedness and Safety, in partnership with Campus Safety, will participate in the Great ShakeOut Earthquake Exercise on Thursday, Oct. 15, between 10:15 a.m. to 10:25 a.m.
The Great ShakeOut provides an opportunity for our community to practice the recommended actions to take during an earthquake: Drop, Cover and Hold On. In most situations, if you feel earthquake shaking or receive an earthquake alert, you should immediately drop to your hands and knees where you are, cover your head and neck with one arm and hand, and, if possible, take shelter under a sturdy desk or table, and hold on until the shaking stops. For this exercise, community members are encouraged to practice these steps for one minute wherever they are on campus upon receiving the Mudd Alert notification. Participants may then conclude the exercise independently or as a class.
For more information, please contact Kelly Salazar, emergency preparedness and safety manager.
Join the Office of Human Resources for an interactive LinkedIn Learning session. Participants will complete a pre-selected training before coming together in person for a facilitated discussion, interactive activities and an opportunity to share insights and connect with colleagues.
The Office of Human Resources invites staff to HMC Staff Conversations (HSC) on Oct. 21. HSC is a quarterly meeting series designed to provide an open forum for sharing important College updates, gathering feedback and fostering meaningful staff engagement.
These sessions offer an opportunity to hear updates, ask questions, share insights on College initiatives and policies, and engage in open dialogue with colleagues and College leaders.
Additional details about the October session will be shared soon.
Take a break, and join the Office of Human Resources in the Kingston Courtyard for a Wellness Hour! Stop by to explore wellness resources, open enrollment benefits information and helpful self-care and stress-relief tools. Enjoy fun snacks, stickers and a chance to win raffle prizes.
Join us as we welcome Rob Bean from LinkedIn Learning! Rob will give us an overview of LinkedIn Learning, show us how to search and find useful content and share tips for making the most of the platform. We’ll also learn more about HMC Collections and how they can support learning across our departments.
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