معرفی
Professor Matthew Benjamin Kearnes serves as the Deputy Head of School (Research) of the School of Humanities and Languages at the University of New South Wales. He is a prominent figure in the UNSW Environment and Society group, with extensive research and teaching in the Environmental Humanities and Geographical Studies programmes. He also holds the position of president of the Geographical Society of NSW.
Professor Kearnes completed his academic training with a BSc (honours) in Human Geography at Macquarie University and a PhD at the University of Newcastle. His career includes post-doctoral positions at the Open University and Lancaster University, followed by a Research Council's UK Academic Fellowship at Durham University (2007-2011). His scholarly trajectory demonstrates international engagement and academic excellence.
His research sits at the intersection of Science and Technology Studies (STS), social and cultural geography, and contemporary social theory. He investigates the social constitution of technological and environmental change processes, with particular focus on public engagement with climatic change, bio-nanotechnology, geoengineering, and water systems. His methodological approach emphasizes qualitative and ethnographic techniques to understand societal dimensions of scientific and technological developments.
Professor Kearnes currently leads multiple significant research initiatives including ARC Discovery Projects on illicit drug policy solutions and Warragamba Dam narrative ecologies, as well as the ARC Training Centre for Transformation of Australia's Biosolids Resource. He previously held an ARC Future Fellowship on climate governance and contributed to the ARC Centre of Excellence on Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology.
- RCUK Fellowship (2007)
- ARC Future Fellowship (2014)
- WateReuse International Award (2014)
- Amsterdamska Award (2018)
As an academic leader, Professor Kearnes serves on the editorial collective for Science, Technology & Human Values and as associate editor of Science as Culture. He actively supervises PhD students working at the intersection of STS, environmental humanities, and cultural geography. His teaching portfolio includes undergraduate and postgraduate courses such as Environment and Society, The Politics of Climate Change, Waste and Society, and Environmental Participation: Publics & the Power to Change, reflecting his commitment to interdisciplinary environmental education.
