MSWG: Dan Volmar

Date: 

Wednesday, November 4, 2015, 12:00pm to 1:30pm

Location: 

Science Center 252

"The Missile, the Forest, and the Garbage Can"

RSVP here by Monday, Nov. 2 for lunch.

In 1960, officials of the United States government began to worry that nuclear-armed missiles in the Minuteman class could launch on their targets unintentionally--perhaps by the hundreds. The military and its industrial partners did not share their concern. More than a problem of safety, neither could agree who had the power to define the technical features of the Minuteman missile. This talk asks: How rationally can legal authorities control a complex technology program? In the case of Minuteman, the answer is unclear.