Erik Aarden

Background

About Erik Aarden

I work as assistant professor at the Department of Science, Technology and Society Studies of the University of Klagenfurt, a position I started in December 2020. In my research I am interested in how sociotechnical infrastructures for producing and ordering ways of knowing and valuing operate in defining and addressing contemporary societal challenges, particularly in the areas of human health and the (natural) environment. So far, I have mainly focused on (the governance of) research and technology in the domain of human health. I have addressed these themes in my dissertation, in which I focused on the incorporation of genetic technologies in health care systems in Germany, the Netherlands and the UK, a Marie Curie fellowship in which I studied medical research collections in the United States, Singapore and India, and a research project on European research infrastructures in which I studied the case of the biobanking network BBMRI-ERIC. At present, I develop a number of initiatives to study how different ways of knowing and intervening in our ‘natural’ environment aim to advance knowledge about and preservation of biological diversity. My focus is on particular kinds of institutional formations – including protected areas, NGOs, but also institutions like zoos, museums, and different levels of government – and how these aim to balance scientific, public engagement and conservation functions in their various work practices. I teach, and have taught in the past, on both general theoretical and methodological approaches in STS, as well as courses related to specific research themes, including the governance of medical research and innovation, science and democracy and novel data and AI technologies. I have previously worked at the Department of Science and Technology Studies at the University of Vienna, Austria, at the VDI Chair for Futures Studies at RWTH Aachen University in Germany, and the Departments of Health, Ethics and Society and of Technology and Society Studies of Maastricht University, the Netherlands. I have been a Marie Curie fellow at Maastricht University and the Harvard University Program on Science, Technology and Society. I studied Arts and Culture at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, with a specialization in Technological Culture. During my studies I spent a semester studying political science at the University of Bologna in Italy. I have a PhD from Maastricht University. More information and a full list of publications is available on my personal website,