S12E3 - SRA Panel: Is “risk” Risk?

GES Center Lectures, NC State University

Sept. 30, 2025

GES SRA Panel: Is “risk” Risk?

Biltmore 2006 + Zoom | Leadership from the Society for Risk Analysis explores how ‘risk’ is understood and practiced across agencies and communities working with emerging technologies. Although formal and legal definitions of risk are widely invoked in policy and governance, the concept itself is deeply contingent on context and perspective. This panel brings together members of the Society for Risk Analysis – Research Triangle Regional Organization (SRA-RTO) to examine how diverse professional communities articulate and operationalize “risk” in practice. Drawing on experiences from federal agencies such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as well as collaborations with Tribal leaders and other communities, panelists will reflect on the social, institutional, and epistemic dimensions of risk assessment. By situating emerging technologies within these varied frameworks, the discussion highlights the tensions between standardized definitions and lived realities, raising the question of whether “risk” can ever be a singular, shared concept.

Related links:

• Society for Risk Analysis
• Download seminar poster

Panelists

Members of the executive board of the Society for Risk Analysis – Research Triangle Regional Organization.

• Nick Loschin, PhD Student in Interdisciplinary Risk Sciences (Applied Ecology) and AgBioFEWS Fellow, NC State
• Jill Furgurson, PhD Student in Forestry and Environmental Resources, STS scholar, and AgBioFEWS Fellow, NC State
• Madison Horgan, PhD Student in Environmental Engineering and member of the Interdisciplinary Risk Sciences team, NC State
• Paul Schlosser, Biologist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Katie Barnhill, Associate Director of Programs & Engagement at the GES Center, NC State

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