Genetic Witness: Science, Law, and Controversy in the Making of DNA Profiling

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments As I am faced with the daunting task of thanking the individuals and institutions that have made this book possible, I am reminded of just how incredibly lucky I have been during the time that I conceived and carried out this project. Friends, family, and colleagues have supported me in ways both little and big along the way. At least in my humble opinion, a young scholar could not have asked for better mentors than John Beatty and Sheila Jasanoff. John is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met and the best teacher I’ve ever had. Throughout the past several years, he has not only asked me to be the best historian I can be, but also the best person I can be. For both, and especially the latter, I cannot thank him enough. Sheila is, quite simply, present on each and every page of this book, even when it is not entirely apparent. Through her research, teaching, innumerable long conversations, as well as the invigorating STS community that she has created at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, Sheila provided me with the intellectual resources necessary to write this book. While in Minneapolis, I was thankful for the companionship of my fellow graduate students who supported me through two years of coursework. Perhaps the most important person at Minnesota, though, was Barbara Eastwold, who not only resolved seemingly endless bureaucratic crises for me but also managed to brighten my day every time I came to see her. I wrote the bulk of this book in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where I benefited a great deal from my interactions with members of the vibrant STS community at the Kennedy School. Kaushik Sunder Rajan, Jenny Reardon, and David Winickoff deserve special thanks for many interesting conversations and debates. Steve Hilgartner gave me my first course in conducting oral history interviews shortly before I began doing my research. More than seventy interviews later, his advice still comes in handy. Mike Lynch and Simon Cole have also provided me with a tremendous amount of support and have contributed in numerous ways to the creation of this work. Thanks must also go to Dick Lewontin, who provided me with office space when ix Prelims.qxd 6/28/07 10:13 AM Page ix I first arrived in Cambridge and served as my tutor in molecular biology and population genetics while I wrote this book. He was also the first person to read the completed draft of my dissertation. Those who know Dick won’t be surprised to learn that he was more critical of my work than almost anyone else who read it. His comments dramatically improved my thinking, and he can take credit for making me treat science seriously. (Any errors, of course, remain entirely my fault.) Thanks also go to several people who have helped me at various stages of my career and with this book, especially Caroline Acker, Pnina Abir-Am, Jennifer Alexander, Michael Dietrich, Greg Gibson, David Hounshell, Jay Kadane, Sally Kohlstedt, Arthur Norberg, Mark Perlin, Joyce Seltzer, Alan Shapiro, Joel Tarr, Joe Trotter, and Susan Wolf. It has been a pleasure to work with Rutgers University Press on this project. Thanks go to Audra Wolfe for helping me shape the story that is told within these pages, and Doreen Valentine for her tireless efforts to make my writing crisp and coherent. An author could not ask for better editors. Monica Phillips and Marilyn Campbell did an excellent job of turning my rough manuscript into a polished book. Research on recent science, not to mention science in the legal system, poses significant challenges to the historian. To begin with, almost all of the participants in the story I tell are still alive today. Indeed, most are currently at the peak of their careers. Therefore, I must begin by thanking the sixty-plus individuals who took time out of their busy schedules to discuss their roles in the development of DNA typing. Special thanks go to George Sensabaugh from the University of California at Berkeley and William Thompson from the University of California at Irvine for devoting many hours over many days to help me understand the multiple interpretations of the history of DNA profiling. Among the most difficult challenges to overcome are the sheer volume of relevant information and the difficulty in gaining access to the most interesting materials. Therefore, I must acknowledge the following institutions and individuals for their help...