Erin Lin, Assistant Professor of Political Science

Curriculum Vitae

Position: Assistant Professor of Global Food Politics; Department of Political Science
Email: lin.2657@osu.edu
Office: 2084 Derby Hall
Mail: 2084 Derby Hall; 154 North Oval Mall; Columbus, OH 43210

I specialize in the study of war’s long-term effects on human and economic development, both in Cambodia and more globally. One of the things that I especially seek to do in my research and writing is to recover a more dynamic appreciation of the historical processes that shape development, by integrating personal interviews and on-the-ground fieldwork with archival data. I’m also interested in exploring multidisciplinary approaches to answer key questions in political science.

My major research topics include aerial bombings, unexploded ordnance, and rural poverty. Within these themes, I investigate farmer behavior, gender norms, and policy effectiveness. Beyond these social-science themes, I have a deep interest in heavy metal contamination in soil systems (due to chemical leakage and detonation residuals) and image processing (to detect bomb craters from high-resolution satellite images).

My work incorporates techniques from computer science, machine learning, soil science, economics, and anthropology. I am currently nearing completion of my first book, which combines ethnography and over 12 years of research on Cambodia with an econometric study of declassified data from the US Air Force and the Cambodian archives.

My research has received prominent media coverage from The Economist, Gizmodo, Fox News, and The Cambodia Daily, among other media outlets. In 2021, I was elected to the Board of Trustees at Mines Advisory Group, a humanitarian organization dedicated to the removal of unexploded bombs and landmines. In 2022, I was named a Young Investigator by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, which awards half-million dollar grants to early career scientists who show exceptional promise for conducting research of military interest.

In the News

US bombing 50 years ago still shapes Cambodian agriculture: The Economist

The Graphic Detail team’s byline: “American bombs in Cambodia were less likely to explode in fertile regions. Bombed land in these areas yields less rice today.” A full-page article is based on findings from my recent AJPS and PLOS ONE publications.

How fertile land is rendered the least productive: NPR interview

Host Matthew LaPlante’s introduction: “There is nothing more damaging to a nation’s economy than a war on its own soil. But the way we think about the long-term economic consequences of war is often tied up in political instability and reconstruction and the cost of care for veterans. That’s all correct, but my guest this week says we’ve overlooked something: The long-term damage to agriculture.”

My academic origin story in Edible Columbus

Colleen Leonardi’s introduction: “After receiving a Fulbright scholarship to study public health policy in a Phnom Penh slum in Cambodia, Erin happened upon the tragedy of unexploded ordnances in the villages in Cambodia where she was living. This led her to a life of looking at how bombs left embedded in farmers’ fields after the Vietnam War carry the possibility of exploding at any moment. A day working in the rice paddy might lead to an explosion, fatally injuring or killing subsistence farmers in rural, sometimes poverty-stricken areas. I sat down with Erin to learn her story and what she sees as a solution for the farmers, the land and cultures around the world still devastatingly impacted by the act of war.”

AI trained on moon craters is helping find unexploded bombs from the Vietnam War: Gizmodo

Gizmodo’s introduction: “There’s still no completely safe and surefire method for locating unexploded ordnance after a war is over, but researchers at Ohio State University have found a way to harness image processing algorithms, powered by machine learning, to study satellite imagery and locate hot spots where UXO are likely to be located.” The rest of the article is a great summary of our PLOS ONE article.