Interrogating the relationships between complex systems and social hierarchy
I am a research scientist at the MIT Media Lab in the Space Enabled group, and a research associate at the Project on Managing the Atom at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs. I earned my PhD in 2017 from Stanford University’s School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences.
I’m interested in the ways complex systems and technology often exacerbate social hierarchy and inequity. Whether it’s nuclear waste management affecting small communities’ safety and land rights, data and algorithms inappropriately categorizing individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, or innovation practices and products producing racist products and results—I am concerned with the design of processes and policies that promote justice and equity, particularly for historically underprivileged groups.
I use principles of systems architecture, organizational theory, antiracism, feminism, and intersectionality in my work in order to design outcomes that foster equity and autonomy for historically underrepresented populations.