Researcher in Sustainable Transportation, Carleton University
My background is in the history of technology, and in socio-technical transitions theory, the latter of which is a field studying large-scale technological change from a social science perspective. Most of my research involves using historical case studies to understand past examples of rapid and wide-reaching change in technical systems, and apply that to the present-day challenge of rapidly de-carbonising our societies.
I have a particular interest in mobility: My PhD studied the role of public storylines in mediating the transition from a rail-dominated transportation system to a road-dominated transportation system in the United Kingdom and the United States during the twentieth century. More recently, I have reviewed the recent history of cycling in Canada for the Canada Science and Technology Museum, and investigated the climate change implications of autonomous vehicles.
There aren't enough batteries to electrify all cars — focus on trucks and buses instead
Aug 01, 2020 14:51 pm UTC| Technology
We need to change our transportation system, and we need to do it quickly. Road transportation is a major consumer of fossil fuels, contributing 16 per cent of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, which warm up...
Carbon pricing may be overrated, if history is any indication
Feb 22, 2020 00:15 am UTC| Insights & Views Science
A common demand in discussions about climate change is to respect the science. This is appropriate. We should all be paying close attention to the urgent and terrifying conclusions being published by climate...
Self-driving cars will not fix our transportation woes
Jan 06, 2020 16:49 pm UTC| Insights & Views
Its 2035, and youre going to a movie. As you walk out the door, you reach for your phone instead of the car keys because you dont have a car. Instead, youve ordered your ride to come to you. The car that arrives has no...