Vincent Ialenti

Vincent Ialenti is a Researcher affiliated with Cal Poly Humboldt's Environmental Studies department and currently serves as a Social Scientist in the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy. He leads DOE’s Consent-Based Siting Consortia, coordinating $24M projects focused on public engagement for nuclear waste storage facilities. Prior roles include MacArthur Assistant Research Professor at George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs and fellowships at USC, UBC, and Cornell University.

• Education:
  • PhD, Cornell University (2018), Sociocultural Anthropology
  • MSc, London School of Economics (2009), Law, Anthropology, and Society
  • BA, Binghamton University (SUNY) (2008), Philosophy, Politics, and Law

His research explores planetary environmental security, nuclear waste governance, and temporal dimensions of organizational planning. Notable work includes Deep Time Reckoning (MIT Press, 2020), analyzing Finland's nuclear waste repository safety protocols, and ethnographic studies on U.S. nuclear waste accidents. His research has been supported by the NSF, Mellon Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, N Square Collaborative, and The Berggruen Institute.

• Awards:
  • MacArthur Fellowship

Advising and grants: Vincent’s work bridges academia and policy, with grants totaling millions to investigate nuclear waste governance. He collaborates across disciplines and institutions, including federal agencies and international consortia.

He is actively involved in the DOE’s nuclear energy initiatives and maintains ties to academic networks through Cal Poly Humboldt.