Jameson Wetmore

Jameson Wetmore's work combines the fields of science and technology studies, ethics and public policy in order to better understand both the interconnected relationships between technology and society and the forces that change those relationships over time. His research spans a broad array of topics and time periods, but most of it comes back to a recurring question: How do people design and create technological systems, and, in turn, how do these technological systems help to define, reinforce and propagate specific values?

Wetmore has studied how the Old Order Amish regulate the technologies they use in order to strengthen their communities. He has examined the complex systems in place in New Orleans to prevent disasters like Katrina, and he has explored how religious thinkers seek to influence the future of nanoscale research and policy.

Wetmore also works closely with the Consortium for Science, Policy, and Outcomes and the Center for Nanotechnology in Society to develop ways for scientists, policymakers and others to think about the future relationships among science, technology and societies. In an effort to create more equitable systems, much of his work thus far has been focused on the ways in which technologies contribute to inequities between people, institutions and countries. With Susan Cozzens, Wetmore leads TRC 1: Equity, Equality and Responsibility.