Get in touch
Who is RISC?
We are analytical scientists, data scientists, archaeologists, anthropologists, and social scientists with a passion for tackling tough questions. We started RISC to bring our work out of the confines of academia to help find concrete solutions to contemporary issues.
Many of the problems facing societies and their institutions have some form of precedent, if you know where to look. From climate change to limited resources, political uncertainty to public skepticism, or mistrust of the channels of information – all have occurred (albeit in different forms) throughout human history.
Knowing how ancient people did (or did not) successfully adapt to those challenges is a tremendous resource. We use our expertise in the empirical analysis of ancient patterns to find parallel patterns in the present. From understanding of the past, we inform our view for the future.
Why Rubicon?
To “cross the Rubicon” means to commit to a course of action with no way to turn back – i.e., to pass a point of no return. We chose the name because once you start seeing the world through the broad social lens of anthropology you cannot “un-see” it. Any time a decision involves people, and all decisions do, there are inherent social dimensions to the action. All human activity is embedded in a social context.
Those social aspects and consequences of our actions are so pervasive, in fact, that most people never stop to really notice or think about them. Once you start really paying attention to the ubiquitous social networking of the world, though, you cannot help but to see it everywhere. You start seeing the human connections in the most unexpected places.
Our Approach
Our approach is grounded in an understanding that quite often the data we want cannot be observed directly. Instead, it has to be triangulated from things we can observe. Social phenomena and interactions are especially difficult that way. Socially embedded data requires insights into a web of connections that can often be counterintuitive.
As archaeologists and anthropologists, we often needed to find ways to follow those connections through alternate means. The data you would want to examine is long gone, as are the only people that could answer our questions for certain.
To find real answers requires creativity, meticulous understanding of data, and dedication. We apply that same type of intuition to contemporary problems.
Our Experts
Dr. Jennifer Loughmiller-Cardinal holds a PhD in Anthropology and an MS in Analytical Chemistry.
Jennifer is an active and proven research scientist, and an expert at finding ways to pair empirical methods with qualitative analyses. She specializes in mixed methods and multidisciplinary approaches to her research interests. During her career, she has spent substantial time in the field, at laboratories, in museums, and in university teaching settings. She has previously been active in ethnographic studies, data collection, and field interviews.
She has been a research Fellow at both the Library of Congress and at Yale. Her publications have been featured in top academic journals, and each has appeared in those journal's "Top Ten" most viewed and downloaded lists. In 2012, Scientific American listed her work with ancient nicotine as one of that year’s most important scientific finds.
Jennifer is the “dot” person of our team – identifying the right domain and sources of data where patterns will be found.
Mr. James Scott Cardinal holds an MA in Anthropology and an MS in Analytics.
Scott is an experienced research scientist and principal investigator, with more than two decades in government service performing analyses for archaeological resource and project risk management. He specializes in exploratory analysis, unsupervised machine learning, social network and graph analytics, and spatio-temporal pattern detection.
Much of Scott's work has involved translating abstract or qualitative objectives into measurable quantitative features and methods, and communicating specialized technical findings to diverse audiences. He has authored numerous technical reports, prepared professional and public presentations and exhibits, and has published in specialized technical journals.
He is the “lines” member of the team – finding the connections and mechanisms that give structure to the patterns.
