Book ID: CBB604119431

The Squares: US Physical and Engineering Scientists in the Long 1970s (2022)

unapi

Mody, Cyrus C. M. (Author)


MIT Press


Publication Date: 2022
Physical Details: 422
Language: English

In The Squares, Cyrus Mody shows how, between the late 1960s and the early 1980s, some scientists and engineers who did not consider themselves activists, New Leftists, or members of the counterculture accommodated their work to the rapidly changing social and political landscape of the time. These “square scientists,” Mody shows, began to do many of the things that the counterculture urged: turn away from military-industrial funding, become more interdisciplinary, and focus their research on solving problems of civil society. During the period Mody calls “the long 1970s,” ungroovy scientists were doing groovy science. Mody offers a series of case studies of some of these collective efforts by non-activist scientists to use their technical knowledge for the good of society. He considers the region around Santa Barbara and the interplay of public universities, think tanks, established firms, new companies, philanthropies, and social movement organizations. He looks at Stanford University's transition from Cold War science to commercialized technoscience; NASA's search for a post-Apollo mission; the unsuccessful foray into solar energy by Nobel laureate Jack Kilby; the “civilianization” of the US semiconductor industry; and systems engineer Arthur D. Hall's ill-fated promotion of automated agriculture.

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Reviewed By

Review Barbara Hof (2023) Review of "The Squares: US Physical and Engineering Scientists in the Long 1970s". Technology and Culture (pp. 266-267). unapi

Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB604119431/

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Authors & Contributors
Taylor, Peter J.
Karin Patzke
Jon A. Leydens
Ichikawa, Hiroshi
Morenas, Leon Angelo
Wisnioski, Matthew H.
Concepts
Counterculture
Science and society
Social justice
Engineering
Technology and society
Personality of the scientist
Time Periods
20th century, late
21st century
20th century
Places
United States
Nicaragua
Delhi (India)
Sri Lanka
Soviet Union
Institutions
Project Apollo (NASA)
United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
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