Dr Cian O'Donovan

I am a researcher at UCL's Department of Science and Technology Studies. My core interest is how innovation is directed towards, and often away from, social progress. My research interests include automation, technology and democracy; the role of politics and institutions in innovation and social change; and cultures of knowledge making, practises and research methods.

Before joining UCL's STS Department, I worked at SPRU – Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex. Most recently with colleagues Adrian Smith and Ed Steinmueller I examined automation and digital fabrication technologies by mapping the happiness of makers, coders and craftspeople with respect to the tools they use, such as 3D printers, digital CNC, laser cutters and CAD/CAM. This work was part of Responsible Innovation and Happiness: A New Approach to the Effects of ICTs with colleagues at SPRU and TIK Centre (Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture) at the University of Oslo.

Previously I was Research Coordinator of The ESRC Nexus Network. As well as coordinating research activities of the Network, I carried out research on the inter- and trans-disciplinary capabilities and capacities generated by the Network over its four year lifespan.

My PhD thesis, co-funded by the ESRC and the University of Sussex, examined the emergence of low-carbon innovation systems in new locations. Specifically I looked at the growth of wind energy in Ireland over a 25 year period and asked why and how some countries are capable of “rapid catch-up” despite a low scale indigenous industrial base.