Richard
S. Caliguiri Professor of Urban and Environmental
History and Policy; Professor, History,
Engineering
and Public Policy, and The
H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management
Development
of the urban infrastructure; urban technologies; environmental
trends, problems, and regulatory policies; and regional
economic development.
B.A. (History)
1956 and M.A (History) 1957, Rutgers University
Ph.D. (History) 1963, Northwestern University.
Carnegie
Mellon, 1967 -.
History
provides an essential context for understanding the
development of many contemporary problems. Without
an understanding of such historical background, many
attempts at contemporary problem solving are doomed
to failure. Professor Tarr is a historian whose research
focuses on the history of urban technologies and urban
infrastructure systems, as well as the development
of environmental problems and policy. More specifically,
he has written about the effects of transportation
innovations, the uses of the telegraph in the urban
context, and the development and impacts of water
supply and waste water systems.
Professor
Tarr's environmental work has dealt also with air,
water, and land pollution, and the cross-media problems
created by technological choices and changing disposal
practices. In addition, Professor Tarr has examined
problems of industrial pollution. Professor Tarr has
also written about environmental policy formation
on the local, state, and federal levels, and the roles
of various professional groups in setting priorities.
This research has dealt primarily with changing conceptions
of risk in the face of new knowledge and new technologies,
as well as societal value change. Much of his environmental
and technology-related research has been done in collaboration
with engineers.
Representative
Publications
J. A.
Tarr, "Transforming An Energy System: The Evolution
of the Manufactured Gas Industry and the Transition
to Natural Gas in the United States (1807-1954),"
pp. 19-37 in O. Coutard (ed.), The Governance of
Large Technical Systems, Routledge, London, 1999.
J. A.
Tarr and J. Stine, "At the Intersection of Histories:
Technology and the Environment," Technology and
Culture, vol. 39, Oct., 1998, pp. 601-640.
J. A.
Tarr, "Searching For A Sink for an Industrial Waste,"
pp. 163-180 in C. Miller and H. Rothman (eds.),Out
of the Woods: Essays in Environmental History,
University of Pittsburgh Press, 1997. |
