Hirokazu Miyazaki
Hiro is the Kay Davis Professor and Professor of Anthropology at Northwestern University and Principal Investigator of “The Role of Cities in the Politics of Nuclear Weapons,” a Carnegie Corporation of New York-funded study of city diplomacy for nuclear justice, nuclear disarmament, and nuclear abolition. His areas of expertise include theories of exchange, hope, and peace. Hiro’s current research focuses on the role of civil society in addressing issues surrounding the uses of nuclear power. Hiro’s publications include The Method of Hope: Anthropology, Philosophy, and Fijian Knowledge (Stanford University Press, 2004), Arbitraging Japan: Dreams of Capitalism at the End of Finance (University of California Press, 2013), The Economy of Hope (co-editor; University of Pennsylvania Press, 2017), and Nuclear Compensation: Lessons from Fukushima (editor, Northwestern University Libraries, 2021).
Nalani Saito
Nalani Saito is a Ph.D. student in Sociology at Northwestern University. Her research interests include the intersection of land stewardship and empire with a focus on demilitarization and decolonization in the Pacific. Nalani’s current project is on the environmental impacts of militarism in Honolulu.
Maya Krainc
Maya is a research and editorial assistant. Prior to working on the Mapping Nuclear Legacies project, she was a reporter at Responsible Statecraft covering foreign policy and international security issues, as well as at The Evanston RoundTable. She graduated from Northwestern University in 2024 with degrees in Political Science and Journalism, and her research interests include global security threats, conflict studies, and peacebuilding.
Avery Blaszak
Avery Blaszak (’25) is a rising senior at Northwestern University, double majoring in Cultural Anthropology and Sociology. Originally from Shaker Heights, Ohio, she became involved in this project through a course on nuclear weapons in cities taught by Professor Miyazaki. Avery is currently working on her senior thesis in anthropology, exploring a related topic. Her interests include environmental justice, resource extraction and colonialism, and urbanization. She hopes to continue learning more about these topics as she contributes to this website.
Micah Sandy
Micah Sandy (‘26) is a research assistant and a junior at Northwestern University studying Journalism, Political Science, and Classical Studies. At Northwestern, he has held various editing positions at The Daily Northwestern, reports for Northwestern News Network, and participates in multiple opportunities to learn abroad, most recently having traveled to Japan. Micah is interested in national and international security, mass media, activism, and international political economy. Having developed a major interest in nuclear disarmament within the past few years, he hopes to spread knowledge about the topic as much as possible while continuing to learn more about its intricacies.
Alex Wen
Alex is a web developer and artist based in Chicago. His work revolves around creativity as a way to enact change, connect communities, and actualize a better world. He enjoys writing about films, bridging together creative communities, and thinking about ways to prioritize process over product.
Helena Schatzki
Helena is a senior at Northwestern University studying Anthropology, Theater, and Global Health Studies originally from Lexington, Kentucky. She is interested in international humanitarian aid work that places human stories at the forefront. Helena desires to find an interdisciplinary approach to global issues using her experiences in politics, theater, and anthropology.