I’m Ned Molder, I’m a PhD student in the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. My research concerns how the environment and particular natural spaces are constructed through techno-scientific data and practices. I was originally trained as a geologist so my research questions are strongly influenced by the fields of geophysics and geospatial data science. My research also draws from critical perspectives in political ecology and science and technology studies (STS) to try to understand how environmental sensing technologies and the social, political, and economic contexts in which they are deployed co-produce particular systems of environmental governance. I’m especially interested in sites that are difficult to access directly (e.g. the deep ocean or underground) as here the process of knowledge production is mediated by techno-scientific apparatus and their infrastructures. In such cases, broader political economies of science and industry are bound up with claims to epistemic authority over nature, which raises important questions about whose knowledge counts and whose is marginalized, and about what purpose knowledge ultimately serves in environmental governance.
Beyond my academic work, I am also a visual artist, and this site is primarily a portfolio of my work (see the “Art” tab above). For professional and academic work, click the links below to access current CV, writing portfolio, social media channels, and Google Scholar page.
Curriculum Vitae | Writing Portfolio | Google Scholar | LinkedIn | Instagram