Nuclear Museum Logo
Nuclear Museum Logo

National Museum of Nuclear Science & History

Robert “Bo” Jacobs

HistorianJapan

Expert
Bo Jacobs

Robert “Bo” Jacobs is an American historian of nuclear technologies and radiation technopolitics. He moved to Japan in 2006 after being hired by the Hiroshima Peace Institute.

Jacobs is currently a professor at the Hiroshima Peace Institute and the Graduate School of Peace Studies of Hiroshima City University. His work is devoted to preserving memories of people affected by radiation and studying the colonialism of Cold War nuclear testing.  

Cognizant of perpetuating cycles of colonialist exploitation, Jacobs has sought to find ways to build networks within indigenous communities affected by radiation. Jacobs has organized training sessions to teach young adults from Japan, the Marshall Islands, and other radiation-affected places how to collect oral histories and preserve community memories.

You can listen to an interview with Jacobs here.

Related Profiles

Kenji Shiga

Japan

Kenji Shiga was the director of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum from 2013-2019. As director, Shiga greets foreign dignitaries visiting Hiroshima, including then-United States President Barack Obama in 2016.

Thomas Mason

Oak Ridge, TN

Thomas (Thom) Mason is the President and CEO of Triad National Security, LLC and the director designate of Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Lester Tenney

Tinian Island

Lester Tenney (1920-2017) was an American World War II veteran who survived the Bataan Death March and endured years as a prisoner of war in Japan.

John Price

​John Price is an environmental manager who has been working on radioactive waste cleanup projects for more than 35 years.