معرفی
Rob Kitchin is Professor in the Maynooth University Social Sciences Institute (MUSSI) and the Department of Geography at Maynooth University (National University of Ireland, Maynooth). Since 1998 he has directed or co-directed several flagship interdisciplinary centres, including the National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis (2002–2013), the Digital Repository of Ireland (2009–2017) and the All-Island Research Observatory (2005–2017), and currently leads the ERC-funded Data Stories project (2022–2027).
Education
- PhD Geography, University of Wales Swansea (1992–1995)
- MSc Geographical Information Systems, University of Leicester (1991–1992)
- BSc (Hons) Geography, University of Lancaster (1988–1991)
Research Interests
Rob’s work sits at the intersection of human geography, digital geographies and urban studies. He interrogates how software, big data, algorithms and spatial media reshape cities, governance and everyday life, with particular attention to questions of social justice, ethics and power. His research clusters include smart cities and urban science, software studies and code/space, cartographic theory and dashboards, data infrastructures and practices, and social geography of Ireland.
Scientific Awards
- Maynooth University Research Achievement Award 2018 (inaugural, university-wide)
- Royal Irish Academy Gold Medal for the Social Sciences 2013
- ERC Advanced Investigator Award 2013 (The Programmable City)
- Meridian Book Award 2011 (Association of American Geographers)
- Cantemir Prize 2012 (Berendel Foundation)
- Elected Member of the Royal Irish Academy 2015
- Media Achievement Award 2015 (AAG)
- Numerous national e-government and geography prizes
Research Funding & Leadership
Principal or co-investigator on 50 funded projects worth c. €39 million from ERC, SFI, HEA, ESRC, NSF, RIA and others. Recent roles include PI of Data Stories (ERC, €2.5 m, 2022–2027), Building City Dashboards (SFI, €2.35 m, 2016–2021) and The Programmable City (ERC, €2.31 m, 2013–2018). He previously directed the National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis (2002–2013) and the Digital Repository of Ireland (2009–2017).
Labs, Teams & Editorial Roles
Rob leads the Programmable City and Data Stories research teams at Maynooth, supervising post-docs and graduate researchers across geography, computer science and urban planning. He is Editor-in-Chief of Dialogues on Digital Society (2024–), former Managing Editor of Dialogues in Human Geography (2011–2020) and Social & Cultural Geography (2000–2009), and Editor-in-Chief of the 12-volume International Encyclopedia of Human Geography.
