Kristine Ericson is a historian with research interests in science, technology, design, and built and natural environments. Her current book project traces how the destruction of buildings and building materials by wind, water, and fire was simulated in the twentieth-century United States. The project examines multiple groups that have had an interest in recreating and rehearsing scenes of disaster and decay, including academic earth scientists, fire and property insurers, Hollywood filmmakers, wind engineers, amusement park designers, and producers of building materials and house paints. The project shows how, in efforts to mitigate perceived environmental hazards, the creators of environmental simulations developed industry-specific techniques for representing natural forces and manipulating time. Using recording technologies; tools for controlling and choreographing air, water, fire, and solid materials; architectural modeling techniques; and computational methods—they toyed with simulated forces to strategically speed up, slow down, or play in real time their damaging effects. These simulations informed the first national building codes and building standards, influenced the way buildings were constructed and financed, and shaped the way popular audiences have understood the vulnerability of human bodies and environments to natural forces. The project has been supported by organizations including the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution.

Kristine is currently a PhD Candidate at Yale University in the History of Science and Medicine program and has a Master of Architecture degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. She has previously worked as an architectural and visual designer in the United States and Denmark.