Jay Aronson

Research

JAY ARONSON's research focuses on issues at the intersection of the life sciences, biotechnology, politics, and law. His current research explores the uses of DNA evidence in British immigration tribunals, as well as in international human rights work in Argentina, Central America, and the Former Yugoslavia. He is also interested in the challenges and benefits of public participation in bioethical decision-making.

Dr. Aronson received his Ph.D. in History of Science and Technology from the University of Minnesota in 2003. His dissertation examined the introduction, contestation and regulation of forensic DNA analysis (commonly referred to as "DNA fingerprinting") in the American legal system. The primary goals of this research were to: describe the development of forensic DNA analysis as a technological system; chart the evolution of the legal system's ability to evaluate and reshape forensic DNA analysis; explain the origins and consequences of expert disagreement; and gain richer understanding of interactions between science and law in the United States. This work was funded by grants from the National Science Foundation, the Consortium on Law and Values in Health, Environment and the Life Sciences at the University of Minnesota, as well as two fellowships from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Aronson received a B.S. in Biology (with a focus on genetics) from the University of Michigan. Before attending graduate school, he worked in the biotechnology industry and served as a paralegal in an asbestos-related legal settlement.

Dr. Aronson was both a Pre-Doctoral (2001-2003) and Post-Doctoral Fellow (2003-2004) in the Program on Science, Technology and Society at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. Since 2004 he has been an assistant professor in the Department of History at Carnegie Mellon University.

Publications

"DNA fingerprinting on trial: the dramatic early history of a new forensic technique," in Endeavour (forthcoming, summer 2005).

"The Starch Wars and the Early History of DNA Profiling," in Forensic Science Review (forthcoming, January 2006).

"Technologies of Justice: The Emergence of a Fundamental Right to Post-Conviction DNA Testing," in S. Jasanoff and S. Sperling (eds.), Reframing Rights: The Constitutional Implications of Technological Change (forthcoming, 2006).

"History of DNA Typing," in V. Weedn (ed.), Handbook of Forensic DNA Typing (New York: Marcel Dekker, forthcoming 2006).

"Molecules and Monkeys: George Gaylord Simpson and the Challenge of Molecular Evolution, 1961-1966," History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences, 2002, 24(3-4): 447-471.

Review of Philip Kitcher, Science, Truth, and Democracy and Daniel Kleinman (ed.), Science, Technology, and Democracy, in Science, Technology and Human Values, 2003, 28(1): 162-168.

Review of Francois Jacob, Of Flies Mice and Men, in Journal of the History of Biology, 2001, 34: 611-612.

"Gene-Altered Crops," Letter to the Editor (Science Times), The New York Times, 12/26/00, p. D3.