Faculty

The Engineering and Society faculty shown below include professors, associate professors, and assistant professors with primary and joint appointments. To view additional faculty (courtesy, emeritus and visiting), select the "Find Faculty by Appointment" tab to filter results.
  • Peter Norton

    Associate Professor
    Peter Norton headshot
    Peter Norton is associate professor of history in the Department of Engineering and Society at the University of Virginia, where he teaches history of technology, social dimensions of engineering, research, and professional ethics. He is the author of Fighting Traffic: The Dawn of the…
  • Jesse Pappas

    Assistant Professor
    Jesse Pappas

    Jesse Pappas is Assistant Professor of Engineering and Society in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Virginia (UVA). As one of the only social psychologists in the U.S. with a full-time appointment in engineering, he works at the intersection of individual experience and sociotechnical systems.

  • Bryan Pfaffenberger

    Professor Emeritus
    Headshot of Bryan Pfaffenberger

    Since the 1980s, Bryan pioneered the anthropology of technology (AoT). His influential works, cited over 5,000 times, emphasize technology's socio-cultural context. At UVA, he shaped AoT using interdisciplinary insights. Key publications apply anthropological theories to technology's cultural impact, referencing concepts like those of Victor Turner

  • Karina Rider

    Assistant Professor
    Karina Rider Headshot

    Karina researches how people think about "good work" in the digital age. Trained as a sociologist, they use qualitative methods to get at how people critique technology and labor, and how they try to fix it. They are writing a book for MIT Press about what happens when high-status tech workers in Silicon Valley become disillusioned with their jobs.

  • Bryn Elizabeth Seabrook

    Assistant Professor
    Bryn Elizabeth Seabrook Headshot

    Bryn Seabrook's research interests include, bioethics, public participation in environmental policymaking, energy efficiency, climate change, negotiating the environmental - consumer nexus, and analyzing American consumer culture.

  • Ingrid Townsend

    Professor Emerita
    Ingrid Townsend Headshot

    Ingrid Soudek Townsend joined the Engineering faculty in 1973 as the first full-time female faculty of the school. She served as the chair of the STS department for more than seven years. The Townsend Prize, awarded twice a year to the best undergraduate research paper in STS 101, was created to honor her legacy. Townsend retired in May 2008. 

  • Kent Wayland

    Assistant Professor
    Kent wayland
    Dr. Kent Wayland is an Assistant Professor in the science, technology & society program in the Department of Engineering and Society at the University of Virginia. He teaches courses on science, technology, & society, writing, professional ethics, and cross-cultural engineering. He is…
  • Caitlin Donahue Wylie

    Associate Professor
    Caitlin Wylie Profile Image

    I am a social scientist who studies how people work together to learn about nature and technology. In particular, recognizing the crucial contributions of technicians, students, and community members can help us build more inclusive, equitable, and socially beneficial research teams.