Steve Yearley has been at the University of Edinburgh for nearly 12 years. He was appointed in the Sociology subject area as the Professor of the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge, then was seconded to run the ESRC Genomics Policy & Research Forum which was located within the College, and since 2013 has been a member of the STIS (Science, Technology and Innovation Studies) subject area. He is fascinated by the social dimensions of innovations in science and technology, and concentrates in particular on the role of science in public contexts, for example around climate change and genomic techniques. He has authored six books in environmental sociology and in science and technology studies and is co-author of a dictionary of sociology.
Having moved during his training from the natural to the social sciences, Steve is very committed to cross-disciplinary work. Since his arrival in Edinburgh he has worked with ecologists and economists on controversies around wild-deer conservation; he has also worked with zoos and marine parks on strategies for engaging the public with biodiversity conservation. He currently has a small part in a very large NERC-supported project on the ecological footprint of agricultural change.
His seven years leading the Genomics Forum gave him new opportunities to work with ethicists, lawyers, economists and a wide range of life scientists. His role there focused on engagement: public engagement, encounters with policy actors (including a long co-operation with the OECD), and novel forms of interaction with natural scientists. He developed ways of working with artists in residence (including a playwright, two fiction writers, two video-makers and a community panto-organiser) around genomics and society themes, and he led a multi-year association with the Edinburgh International Book Festival, as well as links with the Traverse and various science and politics festivals.
On account of his social science interests relating to the environment, Steve has represented the University on the Scottish Consortium for Rural Research (SCRR) – essentially a research club for agencies that work on rural issues in Scotland – and he has chaired the SCRR Executive Committee since 2011. After his secondment to the Forum, when he returned to the School of Social & Political Science, he co-founded the SKAPE Centre (focusing on science, knowledge and policy) and has overseen the growth of SKAPE for the last three years.
Steve is very excited about his upcoming move to IASH because of the opportunities to engage in novel discussions and research initiatives across disciplinary boundaries. The College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences offers a huge range of academic perspectives and Steve is looking forward to developing IASH’s programmes and helping to increase its public and cultural engagements.