Research

Tommy’s research is at the intersection of political theory and environmental studies. His dissertation explore appeal to the metphor rootedness as a mode of orientation in the Anthropocene. This project Each chapter petals, presenting a Drawing from Appeals to roots as a source of frontline knowledge.

Outside of his dissertation, Tommy is a research on a Sloan Foundation funded grant exploring the socio-technical aspects of BNSF and Berkshire Hathaway’s transition to lithium-battery powered trains in Southern California. This work draws from the field of Science and Technology Studies (STS) to explain the social determinants of technical aspects during energy transition.

Additionally, Tommy has published outside of political science with Sharon Kaye in a children’s philosophy textbook called Take a Stand: Philosophical Arguments for Teens. This project was the conclusion to a program called Philosophy for Kids which taught philosophy as an extraciriccular in Cleveland middle schools. Tommy also engages in creative writing and has published a series of poems in the John Carroll Review.