Talk by Diane Vaughan, Columbia University. Comment: Douglas Osheroff. Diane Vaughan is Professor of Sociology and International and Public Affairs. She is author of "Controlling Unlawful Organizational Behavior," "Uncoupling," and "The Challenger Launch Decision," which was awarded the Rachel Carson Prize, the Robert K. Merton Award, Honorable Mention for Distinguished Contribution to Scholarship of the American Sociological Association, and was nominated for the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize. Much of her research has examined the “dark side” of organizations: mistake, misconduct, and disaster. In 2003, she worked with the Columbia Accident Investigation Board on their analysis and report on the loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia. Two books are in progress, one on the uses of analogy in sociology, and one on air traffic control in the early 21st century.
This presentation is part of the new series "Stanford Seminar on Science, Technology, and Society," which convenes at noon each Friday of spring quarter.