PhD student in Information Systems and Innovation
Research Interests
Thesis: '"Unmaking" the Future: High-level Long Lived Radioactive Waste Management'
This research investigates the transition in the management of high-level long-life (HLLL) nuclear waste management in France, where scientific decision-making is going through an important transformation. It is moving away from the domain of pure scientific expertise where decisions are taken once with no coming back, termed the "technical irreversibility" of decisions, towards cyclical decision-making giving priority to democratic procedures through public debates and Parliamentary vote, termed the "political reversibility" of decisions.
By focusing on the material and memory practices of HLLL nuclear waste management as empirical evidence, the research investigates reversibility "in the making". The uniqueness of the case emerges from the fact that the HLLL nuclear waste will remain as "the monument of contemporary society" for hundreds of thousands of years, without losing its radioactive properties. So, while referring to Science and Technology Studies and Science Policy literatures, the research tries to overcome the tension created by considering futures either as "empty cases" or as "already inscribed". The research also addresses the calls to bridge the gap between different levels of analyses; especially between the macro level investigating the evolution of democracy through the current transition in public policies and the micro level investigating the scientific practices within the laboratories.
Supervisor