I am exploring the use of mobile and web-based technologies for expanding access to cultural resources, particularly historical places and artifacts. I am particularly interested in using mobile technologies and augmented reality software to increase the accessibility and educational value of these resources.

History and Old Media:

1) I am compiling a reference work on post-World War II sound recording media types, their identification, and their preservation, intended for archivists and librarians. The work is technical but draws on my twenty years as a historian of sound recording technologies.

2) I am in the early phases of a focused study of the history of the office dictation machine. The history of this humble device is an exceptionally revealing case study of the processes of industrial design, illuminating the path from design to commerical failure or success. The book will be a departure for me as a traditionally trained historian in that it will rely heavily on visual evidence and artifacts both as source material and as support for my argument.

3) I am in the final phases of research for a book on the theme of imagination as a key component of technology. The book draws broadly from the history of what I refer to as "fringe" technologies (such as magic, UFOs, and quack medical devices) as well as conventional technologies (architecture, weapons of mass destruction, fashion) to argue that the imaginary features of any given technology are as important as the characteristics defined by physics or engineering. The book thus attempts to bridge several academic fields of study that are more closely related than their practioners might believe, including intellectual history, the histories of art, architecture and design, and the history of technoogy broadly defined. Perhaps more importantly, the book will also attempt to modify the popular understanding of what technology really is and what it does, in a way that might be useful to engineers, scientists, policy makers, and the general public.