Short abstract:

Unequal engagement in the creation and operation of RIs contributes to epistemic injustices and tensions between new and existing subcommunities in the nuclear fusion field. While RIs hinder newcomers’ integration in this sense, I show that RIs can also accelerate the integration process.

Long abstract:

How can RIs created for/by one subcommunity meet the needs of another? What happens if they do not? How to balance RI specificity with flexibility?

Not all subcommunities of the nuclear fusion community joined its quest to harness fusion energy as a viable energy source at the same time. While some have been involved from the beginning, the efforts of others have only recently become relevant to the fusion endeavor. When studying the joining process and experiences of one such new subcommunity –control engineers– I observed epistemic injustices and tensions between the newcomers and the traditional subcommunities –mainly groups of physicists.

I argue that unequal engagement of these subcommunities in the creation and operation of RIs is contributing to these epistemic injustices and tensions. The nuclear fusion community relies on numerous research (& development) infrastructures. The two subcommunities –each with different knowledge production goals– have unique needs when it comes to RIs in their field. Over time, the historically more dominant subcommunity of physicists created fitting organizational arrangements for their knowledge aspirations, including RI types and designs. It is only through gaining trust that the newcomers can make changes to existing RIs, changes that, however, solidify the newcomers’ status and research approach –a self-reinforcing process that drives the newcomers’ integration.

By discussing the simultaneously constraining and catalyzing role of RIs for control engineers’ integration in the fusion community, I aim to shed light on the challenges that may occur in other RI-dependent fields when new disciplines knock on their doors.