The Green Atom: A History of Energy and Nuclear Power Advocacy, 1950-2000
PhD projekt
The project examines the history of nuclear power advocacy with a view to contemporary discussion about nuclear power as solution to the climate crisis. More specifically, the project examines the life and thought of three physicists (Bent Elbek, Wolf Häfele, and Alwin Weinberg) who actively participated in shaping knowledge about energy consumption, energy systems, and their effects on the environment and climate alongside their advocacy for nuclear power in their respective national contexts during the postwar period (Denmark, West Germany, and the United States). The relationship between knowledge and energy policy is therefore central to my research, and the way in which advocates of nuclear power have navigated this field is a key question in my dissertation.
The thesis is supervised by Niklas Olsen.
About Rune Korgaard
He is MA in History from University of Copenhagen (UCPH) with supplementary studies in political and social science. He is generally interested in historical perspectives on energy, technology, and environmental science and politics. For more see Website University of Copenhagen
During his stay at the ZZF Potsdam Rune Korgaard is Visiting Fellow in Department II: Knowledge – Economy – Politics.