Thomas Seager
Associate Professor, School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering
School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment
Arizona State University
PO Box 873005
Tempe, AZ 85287-3005
Titles
- Senior Global Futures Scientist, Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory
- Associate Professor, School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering
Biography
Thomas P Seager is an associate professor in the School of Sustainable Engineering & the Built Environment at Arizona State University in Tempe AZ. Seager leads research teams working at the boundaries of engineering and social science to understand innovation for resilient infrastructure systems, including the life-cycle environmental consequences of emerging energy technologies, novel approaches to teamwork and communication in socio-technical integrative settings, and engineering ethics education. Current research sponsors include the National Science Foundation, the US Army Corp of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency, and several industry partners. Seager is the Faculty Director of the Resource Innovation Solutions Network (RISN), a partnership of between ASU, City of Phoenix and other local municipalities for fostering circular, closed-loop economies. Additionally, he serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of two startup companies. The first is eXperiential Sustainability Ethics Training (XSETGames, LLC) creates digital simulations for examining economic and ethical dimensions of wicked problems including pharmaceutical pricing, intergenerational equity, and the Tragedy of the Commons. These simulations have been used by corporations, government agencies, and higher education clients, including dozens of Universities on three different continents. The second is Building Integrated Solar Thermal Electricity Generation (BISTEG-USA, LLC), which is developing full-scale working sculptures that create electricity from sunlight without using photovoltaics. BISTEG is currently working with the City of Adelaide, Australia to create a technology demonstration wall that will help realize their vision of becoming the first carbon neutral city in the world. Lastly, Seager founded the non-profit Sustainability Conoscente Network as a mechanism for sharing knowledge related to systems approaches to sustainable technologies. The Conoscente holds the International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technologies in May of every year issst2016.net).
Education
- PhD, Clarkson Univeristy, 2001
- MS, Civil Engineering, Clarkson University, 1994
- BS, Civil Engineering, Clarkson University, 1987
Expertise
Journal Articles
2019
Thomas, J. E., D. A. Eisenberg, T. P. Seager and E. Fisher. 2019. A resilience engineering approach to integrating human and socio-technical system capacities and processes for national infrastructure resilience. Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management 16(2):20170019. DOI: 10.1515/jhsem-2017-0019.. (link )
2017
Hinrichs, M. M., T. P. Seager, S. J. Tracy and M. A. Hannah. 2017. Innovation in the Knowledge Age: Implications for collaborative science. Environmental Systems and Decisions 37(2):144-155. DOI: 10.1007/s10669-016-9610-9. (link )
2016
Ravikumar, D., T. P. Seager and M. P. Fraser. 2016. An anticipatory approach to quantify energetics of recycling CdTe photovoltaic systems. Progress in Photovoltaics 24(5):735-746. DOI: 10.1002/pip.2711. (link )
2015
Fisher, E., M. O'Rourke, R. Evans, E. B. Kennedy, M. E. Gorman and T. P. Seager. 2015. Mapping the integrative field: Taking stock of socio-technical collaborations. Journal of Responsible Innovation 2(1):39-61. DOI: 10.1080/23299460.2014.1001671. (link )
Sadowski, J., S. G. Spierre, E. Selinger, T. P. Seager, E. A. Adams and A. Berardy. 2015. Intergroup cooperation in common pool resource dilemmas. Science and Engineering Ethics 21(5):1197-1215. DOI: 10.1007/s11948-014-9575-3. (link )
Spierre Clark, S., A. Berardy, M. A. Hannah, T. P. Seager, E. Selinger and J. Vianney Makanda. 2015. Group tacit knowledge and globally distributed virtual teams: Lessons learned from using games and social media in the classroom. Connexions 3(1):113-151. (link )
Spierre Clark, S., T. P. Seager and E. Selinger. 2015. A development-based approach to global climate policy. Environment Systems and Decisions 35(1):1-10. DOI: 10.1007/s10669-015-9533-x. (link )
2014
Eisenberg, D. A., I. Linkov, J. Park, M. E. Bates, C. Fox-Lent and T. P. Seager. 2014. Resilience metrics: Lessons from military doctrines. Solutions 5(5):76-85. (link )
Ravikumar, D., T. P. Seager, M. V. Chester and M. P. Fraser. 2014. Intertemporal cumulative radiative forcing effects of photovoltaic deployments. Environmental Science and Technology 48:10010-10018. DOI: 10.1021/es502542a. (link )
Sadowski, J., S. G. Spierre, E. Selinger, T. P. Seager, E. A. Adams and A. Berardy. 2014. Intergroup cooperation in common pool resource dilemmas. Science and Engineering Ethics DOI: 10.1007/s11948-014-9575-3. (link )
Wender, B., R. W. Foley, V. Prado-Lopez, D. Ravikumar, D. A. Eisenberg, T. A. Hottle, J. Sadowski, W. P. Flanagan, A. Fisher, L. Laurin, M. E. Bates, I. Linkov, T. P. Seager, M. P. Fraser and D. H. Guston. 2014. Illustrating anticipatory life cycle assessment for emerging photovoltaic technologies. Environmental Science & Technology 48(18):10531-10538. DOI: 10.1021/es5016923. (link )
2013
Hannah, M. A., A. Berardy, S. G. Spierre and T. P. Seager. 2013. Beyond the “I“: Framing a model of participatory ethical decision-making for international engineering communication. Connexions 1(2):11-41. (link )
Linkov, I., D. A. Eisenberg, M. E. Bates, D. Chang, M. Convertino, J. H. Allen, S. E. Flynn and T. P. Seager. 2013. Measurable resilience for actionable policy. Environmental Science & Technology 47(18):10108-10110. DOI: 10.1021/es403443n. (link )
Park, J., T. P. Seager, P. S. Rao, M. Convertino and I. Linkov. 2013. Integrating risk and resilience approaches to catastrophe management in engineering systems. Risk Analysis 33(3):356-367. DOI: 10.1111/j.1539-6924.2012.01885.x. (link )
Rogers, S. H., J. M. Halstead and T. P. Seager. 2013. Characterization of public and stakeholder objectives in environmental management: New Hampshire's Lamprey River. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management 139(2):217-232. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0000246. (link )
Sadowski, J., T. P. Seager, E. Selinger, S. G. Spierre and K. P. Whyte. 2013. An experential, game-theoretical pedagogy for sustainability ethics. Science and Engineering Ethics 19(3):1323-1339. DOI: 10.1007/s11948-012-9385-4. (link )
Spierre, S. G., T. P. Seager and E. Selinger. 2013. The diminishing returns to the 2010 Human Development Index: Implications for climate policy and sustainable development. Journal of Sustainable Development 6(6):34-47. DOI: 10.5539/jsd.v6n6p34. (link )
Wender, B., R. W. Foley, D. H. Guston, T. P. Seager and A. Wiek. 2013. Anticipatory governance and anticipatory life-cycle assessment of single wall carbon nanotube anode lithium ion batteries. Journal of Nanotechnology Law and Business 9(3):201-216. (link )
2012
Seager, T., E. Selinger and A. Wiek. 2012. Sustainable engineering science for resolving wicked problems. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 25(4):467-484. DOI: 10.1007/s10806-011-9342-2. (link )
2011
Linkov, I., M. E. Bates, L. J. Canis, T. P. Seager and J. M. Keisler. 2011. A decision-directed approach for prioritizing research into the impact of nanomaterials on the environment and human health. Nature Nanotechnology 6:784-787. DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2011.163. (link )
Seager, T. P., E. Selinger and S. Spierre. 2011. Determining moral responsibility for CO2 emissions: A reply to Nolt. Ethics, Policy & Environment 14(1):39-42. DOI: 10.1080/21550085.2011.561594. (link )
Book Chapters
2019
Berardy, A. and T. P. Seager. 2019. The test of ubiquitous through real or interactional expertise (TURINEX) and veganism as expertise. Pp. 205-215 In: Caudill, D. S., S. Conley, M. E. Gorman and M. Weinel eds., The Third Wave in Science and Technology Studies: Future Research Directions on Expertise and Experience. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. ISBN: 978-3-030-14334-3.
Posters
2018
Markolf, S. A., M. V. Chester, T. R. Miller, D. Eisenberg, R. Zimmerman, C. I. Davidson and T. P. Seager. 2018. Infrastructure as linked social, ecological, and technological Systems (SETS) to address lock-in and improve resilience. Poster presented at the 20th CAP LTER All Scientists Meeting and Poster Symposium, January 5, 2018, Skysong, Scottsdale, AZ. (link )
Presentations
2013
Berardy, A., T. P. Seager, E. Selinger and R. Uhl. 2013. TURINEX: A social science tool to help predict and understand sustainable consumption. Presentation at the International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technology, 16-17 May 2013, Cincinnati, OH. (link )
2012
Berardy, A. and T. P. Seager. 2012. Assessing trade-offs in diet variability with life cycle assessment: Beef vs. seitan. Presentation at the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) North American 33rd Annual Meeting, 11-15 November 2012, Long Beach, CA.
Conference Papers
2015
Berardy, A., C. Costello and T. Seager. 2015. Life cycle assessment of soy protein isolate. In: Choi, J. and A. Anctl eds., Proceedings of the International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technologies, v3. International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technologies. (link )
2013
Berardy, A., T. P. Seager, E. Selinger and R. Uhl. 2013. TURINEX: A social science tool to help understand and predict sustainable consumption. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technology. international Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technology. Cincinnati, OH. (link )
2011
Berardy, A., T. P. Seager and E. Selinger. 2011. Developing a pedagogy of interactional expertise for sustainability education. Pp. 1-4 2011 IEEE International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technology (ISSST). 2011 IEEE International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technology (ISSST). Chicago, IL. (link )
2010
Seager, T. P., E. Selinger, D. Whiddon, D. Schwartz, S. Spierre Clark and A. Berardy. 2010. Debunking the fallacy of the individual decision-maker: An experiential pedagogy for sustainability ethics. Pp. 1-5 2010 IEEE International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technology (ISSST). 2010 IEEE International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technology (ISSST). Arlington, VA. (link )