David Peterson

David Peterson serves as an Assistant Professor in the Sociology Department at Purdue University. His academic journey includes a PhD from Northwestern University and postdoctoral research at UCLA.

His research examines the intersection of scientific practice, emerging technologies, and expert authority. Key focus areas include:

• Evolution of scientific organizations facing political pressure, global competition, machine learning technologies, and regulatory bodies
• Science production in fields with chronic legitimacy issues (e.g., social sciences), analyzing politics-expertise-authority dynamics

Specializations encompass science and technology studies, expertise, metascience, data society interactions, and qualitative methodologies.