Christopher Lawless

Christopher Lawless is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at Durham University. His research focuses on the intersection of forensic science, biometric technologies, and science-policy dynamics using frameworks from Science and Technology Studies (STS). He has held positions at the London School of Economics and the University of Edinburgh before returning to Durham in 2012.

• Primary research themes: forensic science, STS, biometrics, critical infrastructures, climate change resilience
• Policy impact: Contributions to UK parliamentary inquiries, United Nations Resilience Academy (2013-17), and policy documents for the White House National Security Council and Paris UN Climate Conference

His work examines sociotechnical co-production in:

• Forensic and biometric technologies' legal/ethical status
• Critical infrastructure governance (air traffic control, groundwater systems)
• Climate change resilience frameworks

Recent publications analyze:

• Bayesian reasoning's disruption of forensic epistemology
• Biometric imaginaries across UK jurisdictions
• Sociomaterial politics of groundwater management