Zachary Loeb

Zachary Loeb serves as Assistant Professor in the Department of History at Purdue University, specializing in the historical intersections of technology, disasters, and societal risk.

Education:

• PhD in History and Sociology of Science, University of Pennsylvania (2023)
• MA in Media, Culture, and Communication, New York University
• MSIS, Information School, University of Texas at Austin

His research examines how technological developments—particularly in computing—generate real and imagined catastrophic risks, with current focus on the Y2K crisis as a lens for understanding societal dependence on digital infrastructure. He investigates historical patterns of technological doomsaying, cybersecurity evolution, and critiques from figures like Lewis Mumford, analyzing how communities respond to perceived technological apocalypses through both professional and cultural frameworks.

Loeb has received research funding from the Charles Babbage Institute, Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy, and Association for Computing Machinery. His public scholarship appears in The Washington Post, TIME, and Boundary 2, with media commentary featured on CNN, NPR, and Vox. He actively mentors graduate students in History of Technology, History of Computing, and History of Disasters.