Geoffrey Bowker is a Professor and Director of the Values in Design Laboratory at the Department of Informatics, Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences, University of California, Irvine. Previously, he served as Professor of Cyberscholarship at the University of Pittsburgh’s iSchool and as Executive Director and the Regis and Dianne McKenna Professor at Santa Clara University’s Center for Science, Technology and Society. Education: PhD in History and Philosophy of Science, University of Melbourne, Australia Postdoctoral Research, École des Mines, Paris His research focuses on the intersection of social, cultural, and political values in technology design , emphasizing inclusivity for underserved communities. He examines how classification systems , standards , and actor-network theory shape knowledge production and ethical frameworks in fields like medicine, environmental science, and nursing. His work on information infrastructure investigates how data structures influence communication between scientists, policymakers, and marginalized groups. Key themes in his publications include the materiality of standards , the indeterminacy of historical narratives , and the practical politics of categorization . His 1996 paper with Susan Leigh Star, How things (actor-net)work , remains foundational in analyzing the hidden labor in technological interoperability. Editorial Roles: Editorial Board, The Information Society Editorial Board, Information and Organization Editorial Board, Metascience Editorial Board, Social Studies of Science The Values in Design Laboratory under his leadership trains researchers to integrate informatics, computer science, and science and technology studies into systems that embed social and ethical values. His work bridges the technical and the philosophical, advocating for transparency in the political dimensions of data structures and technological systems.
