On Business Lobbying and Climate Politics

This dissertation studies three aspects of business political influence. In the first chapter I study how business opposition to climate policy influences its design. Countries have employed a wide range of policy instruments to mitigate climate change. These policies share a common pattern: governments initially rely on subsidies, together with command-and-control regulations, and eventually adopt carbon pricing. I develop a dynamic model of climate policymaking that accounts for this pattern. Although the first-best policy is solely a carbon tax, a climate-concerned policymaker uses subsidies to induce investments in emissions-abatement technologies with the goal of building a coalition in support of efficient policies in the future. The model provides additional insights: First, a policy package that satisfies political constraints and passes a cost-benefit analysis only exists if the economic costs of decarbonization are not too large, and the social cost of carbon is intermediate. Second, soft commitments, such as net-zero targets, can have real consequences by shifting expectations, but only if initial political pressure is not too large and policymakers are sufficiently concerned about climate. Finally, a higher risk of electoral turnover that replaces a green proposer with a misaligned proposer can improve the prospects for a green transition. In the second chapter I study lobbying coalitions. Policy advocates such as interest groups and bureaucrats often form tactical coalitions in order to advance their policy goals on specific issues, even if their interests differ. When do advocates form coalitions instead of lobbying separately? What is the impact of coalitions on welfare and policy moderation? To answer these questions I develop a model of informational lobbying between two advocates and a policymaker. The advocates develop policy proposals, either independently or jointly, and gather verifiable information about their quality. A coalition requires compromise, but reduces competition and can lead to a more effective use of information. I find that, when their interest divergence is moderate and the policymaker's alternative policy is weak, advocates use coalitions in order to filter the information they produce; when the policymaker's alternative policy is strong, in contrast, they use coalitions to aggregate their information. The welfare consequences of coalitional lobbying are thus ambiguous. Interest diversity has a non-monotonic effect on the level of policy compromise, and a high level of compromise can signal low quality policies. In the last chapter, joint work with Pablo Balán and Ignacio Puente, we study how organizational structures---specifically family firms---influence the effectiveness of campaign finance regulation. Through an empirical analysis of Brazil's ban on corporate campaign contributions, we demonstrate that family firms adapt to such regulation more effectively than professionally-managed companies. Following the ban, members of controlling families substitute their personal contributions for previous corporate donations, with an elasticity more than four times higher than in non-family firms. We identify peer effects within families that facilitate this adaptation, showing how kinship networks solve collective action problems in political influence that emerge under regulatory constraints.Governmen

Exocrine Pancreas Cell Plasticity in Injury, Regeneration, and Precancerous Initiation

The pancreas poses challenges for single-cell transcriptomic profiling due to acinar cell production of digestive enzymes, resulting in underrepresentation of critical cell types. To overcome this, we developed FixNCut, a reversible fixation method that uses dithiobis(succinimidyl propionate) (DSP) to preserve transcriptomes, enabling high quality single-cell profiling of the pancreas. We applied FixNCut to understand pancreatic cancer initiation and exocrine pancreas diseases known to increase risk of pancreatic cancer, including acute, recurrent, and chronic pancreatitis. We identified a conserved transcriptional program of acinar plasticity, termed acinar-to-ductal metaplasia (ADM), across these diverse pancreatic stressors. We characterized ADM states, including a transitional gateway state (gADM), and uncovered PanIN heterogeneity including populations with classical- and basal-like gene expression profiles emerging prior to tumor formation. Immune profiling revealed an initial inflammatory response to acute pancreatitis in the wildtype and oncogenic Kras context. However, oncogenic Kras uniquely triggered a second wave of inflammation, marked by proinflammatory neutrophils, activated macrophages, fibroblast reprogramming, and regulatory T cell emergence, fostering a precancerous niche. Together, we provide a comprehensive atlas of pancreatic cellular plasticity, identifying conserved pathways and novel cell states linked in injury, regeneration, and cancer initiation.Medical Science

Living Truthfully Under Imaginary Circumstances

Most of Mae’s life is happening in their head. At sixteen years old, faced with challenges at school and at home, Mae finds solace in the world of Lena Connolly, a successful actor living in New York City, whose circumstances become more real to Mae than their own. As Mae grows up, coming into adulthood, they are forced to reckon with the gap between imagination and reality, and along the way, discover the beauty in both.Extension Studie

Nature and Nation: Sociobiology and the Emergence of Feminist Science Critique in the Postwar United States

This dissertation expands and explores the archive of the 1970s-1980s “sociobiology debate” to redefine its political stakes, that far exceed academic impropriety and the emotions of two tenured Harvard professors, namely Edward O. Wilson and Richard C. Lewontin. It is a mistake to assume, this dissertation contends, that the sociobiology debate was merely an egomaniacal contest between two Ivy League personalities when in fact Wilson’s theories of human nature, that attracted opposition among political activists in the U.S. and abroad, were of consequence to the marginalization of women in the American workforce, the backlash against civil rights in the U.S. North, and the cultural power of the Left in Western higher education. An expanded archive reveals that this infamous scientific controversy was not only a significant iteration of the nature-nurture debate after the Second World War but also a conflict between Wilson and the radical science movement in the U.S. and elsewhere, whose Cold War valence cannot be ignored. We should, this dissertation suggests, understand the sociobiology debate as the story of the anticommunist repression – and subsequent deradicalization – of the radical science movement, that aimed to redirect science in the service of social benefit, during the Cold War. My study focuses on the American radical science movement in particular, and among sociobiology’s broad coalition of critics, I examine Science for the People (SftP), science feminists, and the International Committee Against Racism (InCAR). My work intervenes not only in the history of biology but also in the history of radical science. This dissertation makes the case that the archive of U.S. biology should include its suppression of science critique, and that the archive of radical science should, similarly, include its history of anticommunist repression. Ultimately, I pose the provocation that the real casualty of the sociobiology debate was not E.O. Wilson’s scientific reputation but the second wave of the radical science movement in the United States. Reckoning with this recent history, I conclude, is imperative to today’s efforts to correct the past wrongs of science, and reorient its course towards democracy and justice.History of Scienc

Investigating the Assumptions in Current Methods of Observing and Modeling Tropical Vertical Motion Profiles

This thesis investigates tropical vertical motion profiles using both observations and modelling work. Firstly, we investigate if we can use in-situ observations of heavy-water isotopologues in rainfall to understand vertical motion profiles in the tropics. Next, this thesis will also systematically investigate the different methodologies used to parameterize the large-scale tropical circulation in idealized small-domain simulations, and the differences between them, and whether we can assume that these different schemes are interchangeable. Lastly, I also discuss what these different parametrizations can tell us about convective organization in idealized large-domain simulations, and also within the tropics. Previous work has provided proof-of-concept in using in-situ observations of depletion of heavy-water isotopologues to understand vertical motion profiles in the tropical East Pacific. Using station observational data collected around the time of the OTREC field campaign and after, we show that top-heavy convection results in rainfall that is more depleted in heavy-water isotopologues such as HDO and H$_2^{18}$O. However, these trends of depletion are not spatially consistent, resulting in rainfall that may be more enriched in one location compared to other locations despite having similar rainfall rate and vertical-motion structure. We verify these results using realistic WRF simulations, and based on our results, we provide another metric to measure top-heaviness, one that is also partially dependent on vertical moisture advection. Next, we discuss how large-scale vertical motion profiles are parameterized in idealized small-domain models using the WTG framework. Ever since the canonical formulation of the WTG, adjustment schemes utilizing its explicit and implicit forms have become ubiquitous when modelling tropical convection in small-domain simulations. However, despite the prevalence of these schemes in modelling work for tropical climate, they often produce noticeably different vertical motion structures. For example, the original Weak Temperature Gradient formulation of Raymond and Zeng [2005] is known to produce vertical-motion structures that are more top-heavy than the Damped Gravity Wave formulation of Kuang [2008] and Blossey et al. [2009]. We show that the differences observed when using different WTG-adjustment schemes are often more pronounced under more idealized conditions, and can be traced back to how different WTG-adjustment schemes treat the different vertical modes. Lastly, most past research surrounding small-domain simulations in the WTG framework have focused on the analogues to the wet- and dry-regimes of self-aggregation in large-domain simulations. My work also shows that the WTG framework is potentially able to attain analogues to convectively-coupled waves (CCWs) in small domain simulations. Model runs in large-domain simulations are able to replicate these CCWs regardless of radiative scheme. We note that despite prevalence of convective organization in the form of CCWs across all large-domain simulations we have run, it is still a somewhat overlooked aspect of convective organization, as current work on this field predominantly focuses on self-aggregation of convection.Earth and Planetary Science

Mania in Skamania

Mania in Skamania follows Colt Easton, a vagabond and bibliophile, whose survival skills pull him into the hunt for a missing game warden. What begins as a search and rescue mission through the wilderness unfolds into an investigation that uncovers poachers, corrupt public officials, and a conspiracy to take public land. As the mystery expands beyond one man’s disappearance, Colt is caught between his instinct for solitude and a growing obligation to pursue justice.Extension Studie

Subthalamic Nucleus Participation in Audition and Implications for Basal Ganglia Neuromodulation

The subthalamic nucleus (STN), a core component of the basal ganglia traditionally known for its role in motor control and its therapeutic relevance in Parkinson’s disease (PD), may also play a significant role in auditory processing and speech. This thesis investigates the electrophysiological response of the STN to auditory stimuli and explores its functional connectivity with cortical auditory regions, particularly the superior temporal gyrus (STG). Using retrospective intraoperative recordings from PD patients undergoing deep brain stimulation (DBS), spectral analyses revealed that the STN exhibits consistent beta-band power modulations in response to speech-related sounds, suggesting its active involvement in auditory-motor integration. Comparative analysis with STG responses further supports a networked role of the STN in sensorimotor aspects of speech. Building on these findings, the thesis proposes functional requirements for next-generation DBS systems that can target both motor and auditory-motor circuits to address communication deficits in PD. This work expands the functional understanding of the STN and lays the groundwork for novel neuromodulation strategies that may improve speech and quality of life for individuals with PD.Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technolog

Femme Fatale, Freedom Fighter: Women Terrorists in Twentieth Century British Empire

This dissertation, Femme Fatale, Freedom Fighter, investigates the legal, political, and representational dynamics of women’s participation in anti-imperial insurgencies across the former British Empire in the twentieth century. Writing the narrative and thematic history of three case studies—Malaya, Northern Ireland, and South Africa—it asks how colonial and postcolonial legal systems constructed and responded to women insurgents, and how these women deployed gendered tactics to challenge or exploit imperial authority and internal patriarchies. Bridging imperial history, legal studies, gender theory, and military historiography, this socio-legal history uses archival research from state, legal, and community repositories alongside feminist theoretical frameworks to reconstruct the lived experiences and strategic agency of women labeled as “terrorists.” Drawing on court records, emergency regulations, propaganda materials, prison memoirs, and oral histories, the project analyzes how legal categories such as “terrorist” and “enemy combatant” were produced through gendered, racialized, and imperial logics. The dissertation argues that women insurgents—far from being anomalies—were central actors in shaping colonial emergency law and its afterlives. Their political violence exposed the gendered underpinnings of carceral regimes and reconfigured the symbolic terrain of national liberation struggles. Across six chapters, this history traces the colonial legal genealogy of terrorism, examines women’s militant and carceral resistance, and explores global networks of anti-imperial feminist solidarity. It argues that femininity itself operated as a weapon, a site of state discipline, and a mode of insurgent agency. By re-centering the insurgent woman, this project challenges dominant narratives of decolonization and military history, offering a feminist reimagining of law, war, and political memory in the postcolonial world.Histor

Diode, Anisotropy Measurements, and Improvements of Exfoliation for Nanoscale Superconductor 2M-WS2_2

The quest for signatures of topological or broken symmetry states naturally intersects with engineering of 2D materials that offer a fantastic testbed for condensed matter physics. Delivering layer number control of key properties, local field-effect gating, heterostructure stacking and more, van der Waals transition metal dichalcogenides are promising candidates to explore the interplay between symmetry and novel quantum properties. A bottleneck towards observing tantalizing topological properties in thin materials remains the access to efficient multipurpose exfoliation methods. Motivated by the potential for topological superconductivity in bilayer 2M-WS$_2$, a newly discovered metastable superconductor with the highest T$_c$ (8.8K) in its class, I set out to develop a suite of fabrication tools that comply with heat, air and solvent restrictions. Along the way, using optical second harmonic generation and (scanning) transmission electron microscopy, I characterize the 2M to 2H polymorph transformation and observe structural ordering. I achieve high exfoliation yields both with a polymer-based liquid N$_2$ cooled cleaving, and Au-assisted surface preparation. These methods are used to systematically document the thickness-dependence of 2M-WS$_2$ electronic properties in single-layer increments down to the monolayer. Critical values (I$_c$, T$_c$, and H$_c$) are aggregated for over 100 devices. The effect of a local electrostatic gating is also studied - a first. In another measurement, I realize a magnetic-field-free, tunable, and perfectly rectifying superconducting diode by applying an additional AC electrical excitation to a centrosymmetric 2M-WS$_2$ sample with a tear running through it. I demonstrate diode efficiencies up to 30\% at 90mT and calculate a magnetochiral anisotropy coefficient of $\gamma = 6.0\times10^{8}$ T$^{-1}$A$^{-1}$, the highest ever reported. When investigating a novel geometry, an AC drive applied perpendicular to the direction of current, I record at large AC drives, and under no external field, $I_{c}^{+} = 0$ while $I_{c}^{-} = 2 \mu$A, a 100\% diode efficiency. Simulations suggest that a strongly asymmetric ratchet effect (enabled by the tear) is induced by the AC drive. They explicitly demonstrate increasing diode efficiency with increasing AC drive. Lastly, interested in correlated ferroelectric and superconducting states in T$_d$-MoTe$_2$, I also measure an unusual gate dependence in few-layer samples of this other candidate topological superconductor. Altogether, these observations are facilitated by the methodical optimization of 2D fabrication protocols, which, because they are heat- and solvent-free, could be applied to a range of other materials.Chemical Physic

When Workers Won’t Work: How Scientists, Employers, and Social Reformers Understood and Sought Remedies for Industrial Fatigue and Other Workplace Afflictions, 1910-1940

This dissertation investigates the history of attempts to ameliorate fatigue and other workplace afflictions in the US in the first half of the twentieth century. Bringing together labor history, business history, and the history of science, this dissertation traces how three communities of researchers attempted to apply the emerging sciences of (I) physiology, (II) time and motion, and (III) mind to measure and resolve the intractable problem of industrial fatigue and related workplace maladies. The third group of researchers, championing a mental approach, succeeded in demonstrating, at least to the business community, that the science of studying workers’ minds, rather than their physiology or time and motion, was the key to resolving the labor problem. I argue how, in this process, these scientific approaches invented to wrangle the condition of fatigue sometimes amplified it, transforming fatigue study from a reform-minded initiative to protect workers’ health to a tool for capital to better command its workforce. By using science to pathologize the mental roots of fatigue, researchers promised industry a method for ensuring peaceful workplaces free from discontent and transformed industrial life. As workers variously resisted, sabotaged, and acquiesced to these new initiatives to scientifically collect data about their behaviors, minds, and bodies, they left behind a history of how workers experienced and responded to technological transformations at work.History of Scienc