HSA Science, Technology, and Society Candidate Research Talk, Vincent Ialenti
November 13, 2025 3:30–4:30 p.m.
Location
		
			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
Community 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
Kickstart your career journey by joining us each week for the OCS career and professional development series! From expert panels to hands-on workshops and presentations, each session dives into a new topic designed to help you build skills and confidence for your future.
This faculty panel will explore “dangerous questions” from a variety of disciplines to understand and respond to challenges facing American universities. The discussion will address the erosion of knowledge and expertise, as well as political forces that may attempt to limit intellectual inquiry and creativity.
Ambereen Dadabhoy, asssociate professor of literature, “What Would Shakespeare Say?”
Anup Gampa, assistant professor of psychology, “Invasive Species: Blaming Dysregulated Plant Neighbors Is a ‘Settler Move’ to Innocence”
Rachel Mayeri, artist and professor of media studies, “What Can Art Do During a Fascist Takeover?”
David K. Seitz, associate professor of cultural geography, “Geography Against Immediacy”
Paul Steinberg, professor of political science and environmental policy, “Creative Politics as a Strategic Response to Authoritarianism”
David Wilson, assistant professor of music, “Sounding (Anti-)Authoritarian: A Few Vignettes”
The K-12 through college CS pipeline is full of barriers and those barriers prevent broader participation in the field. I’ll describe some of my research to try to identify or remove some of those barriers. I hope you will learn a bit more about CS education research and how you can advocate for policies and practices that can broaden participation in CS!
“We don’t want to live in a society in turmoil. In the U.S., 93 percent of people want to reduce divisiveness, and 86 percent believe it’s possible to disagree in a healthy way. Yet with increasing political and social fragmentation, many of us don’t know how to move past our differences. Civil rights scholar john a. powell presents an actionable path through ‘bridging’ that helps us communicate, coexist and imagine a new story for our shared future where we all belong.” (description courtesy of Othering and Belonging Institute)
The Office of Civic and Community Engagement (OCCE) will be hosting a guilt-free book club this fall semester on john a. powell’s book The Power of Bridging: How to Build a World Where We All Belong. Our first gathering is on Friday, Oct. 3.
“We don’t want to live in a society in turmoil. In the US, 93 percent of people want to reduce divisiveness, and 86 percent believe it’s possible to disagree in a healthy way. Yet with increasing political and social fragmentation, many of us don’t know how to move past our differences. Civil rights scholar john a. powell presents an actionable path through “bridging” that helps us communicate, coexist, and imagine a new story for our shared future where we all belong.” (taken from Othering and Belonging Institute)
The Office of Civic & Community Engagement (OCCE) will be hosting a guilt-free book club this fall semester on john a. powell’s book The Power of Bridging: How to Build a World Where We All Belong. Our first gathering is on Friday, October 3rd.
This learning community is for everyone, from those who are already experienced in community engagement to those who are curious about learning more about this high-impact educational practice. Faculty participants will discuss readings, meet with outside speakers, share ideas, and think collaboratively about implementing community engagement into the 5C students’ experience.
Welcome to HMC’s Community Conversations for the fall 2025.
HMC Community Conversations* use conversation guides with a structured format to help people with different viewpoints and experiences build understanding. There will be 3–5 other people in a table group. It is not a debate, and the goal is not to change one another’s opinions. There are Conversation Agreements like “Listen and Be Curious” and “Show Respect and Suspend Judgement” that create the framework for diving into the questions. The questions are designed to draw out our personal experiences rather than opinions around the topic.
The overall purpose is to learn more about the experiences others have around the topic and build a sense of community.
Community Conversations will take place on Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to noon in Shanahan 1480; and each gathering will be on a separate topic. Gatherings will be in person only.
Kickstart your career journey by joining us each week for the OCS career and professional development series! From expert panels to hands-on workshops and presentations, each session dives into a new topic designed to help you build skills and confidence for your future.
Learn about HMC’s approved study abroad programs and how to study abroad your junior year.
The Great ShakeOut is an opportunity for our community to practice what to do during an earthquake (drop, cover, and hold on). In the event of a real earthquake, a notification will be sent via Mudd Alert containing important information and instructions.
In most situations, if you feel shaking or receive an earthquake alert, you should immediately:
Drop where you are, onto your hands and knees. This position protects you from being knocked down and reduces your chances of being hit by falling or flying objects.
Cover your head and neck with one arm and hand. If a sturdy table or desk is nearby, crawl underneath for shelter. If no shelter is nearby, crawl next to an interior wall. Stay on your knees; bend over to protect vital organs.
Hold on until the shaking stops. If you’re under shelter, hold on to it with one hand and be ready to move with your shelter if it shifts. If you are not under shelter, cover your head and neck with both arms and hands.
For the purpose of this exercise, we encourage community members to practice these steps for one minute upon receiving the Mudd Alert notification. Thank you for your time and participation in this important emergency preparedness exercise.
“We don’t want to live in a society in turmoil. In the US, 93 percent of people want to reduce divisiveness, and 86 percent believe it’s possible to disagree in a healthy way. Yet with increasing political and social fragmentation, many of us don’t know how to move past our differences. Civil rights scholar john a. powell presents an actionable path through “bridging” that helps us communicate, coexist, and imagine a new story for our shared future where we all belong.” (taken from Othering and Belonging Institute)
The Office of Civic & Community Engagement (OCCE) will be hosting a guilt-free book club this fall semester on john a. powell’s book The Power of Bridging: How to Build a World Where We All Belong. Our first gathering is on Friday, October 3rd.
This learning community is for everyone, from those who are already experienced in community engagement to those who are curious about learning more about this high-impact educational practice. Faculty participants will discuss readings, meet with outside speakers, share ideas, and think collaboratively about implementing community engagement into the 5C students’ experience.
Welcome to HMC’s Community Conversations for the fall 2025.
HMC Community Conversations* use conversation guides with a structured format to help people with different viewpoints and experiences build understanding. There will be 3–5 other people in a table group. It is not a debate, and the goal is not to change one another’s opinions. There are Conversation Agreements like “Listen and Be Curious” and “Show Respect and Suspend Judgement” that create the framework for diving into the questions. The questions are designed to draw out our personal experiences rather than opinions around the topic.
The overall purpose is to learn more about the experiences others have around the topic and build a sense of community.
Community Conversations will take place on Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to noon in Shanahan 1480; and each gathering will be on a separate topic. Gatherings will be in person only.
Kickstart your career journey by joining us each week for the OCS career and professional development series! From expert panels to hands-on workshops and presentations, each session dives into a new topic designed to help you build skills and confidence for your future.
Professor Paul Steinberg teaches the popular course Public Speaking for Science and Citizenship. In this workshop, he’ll share insights on public speaking and lead a fun and easy Audience-ology™ exercise.
Steinberg is professor of political science and environmental policy in the Department of Humanities, Social Sciences, and the Arts, where he holds the Malcolm Lewis Chair in Sustainability and Society. The author of three books and recipient of the International Studies Association’s Deborah Gerner Award for Innovation Teaching, Steinberg runs the firm PS Public Speaking.
The Cabinet is hosting informal coffee breaks in fall 2025 for students, faculty, and staff. These coffee breaks will be attended by most of the Cabinet team and will provide an opportunity for the community to share ideas, express concerns, and highlight successes.
All are welcome to stop by as schedules allow.
“We don’t want to live in a society in turmoil. In the US, 93 percent of people want to reduce divisiveness, and 86 percent believe it’s possible to disagree in a healthy way. Yet with increasing political and social fragmentation, many of us don’t know how to move past our differences. Civil rights scholar john a. powell presents an actionable path through “bridging” that helps us communicate, coexist, and imagine a new story for our shared future where we all belong.” (taken from Othering and Belonging Institute)
The Office of Civic & Community Engagement (OCCE) will be hosting a guilt-free book club this fall semester on john a. powell’s book The Power of Bridging: How to Build a World Where We All Belong. Our first gathering is on Friday, October 3rd.
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