Who We Are

The AusSTS network was established in 2017 in Melbourne, Australia and has since grown to include members from across the Australian continent and Aotearoa New Zealand. It has strong relationships with other STS networks within Australia (including TopEndSTS; the UNSW Science and Society Research Group; the Deakin Science and Society Network; the Australasian Association for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science; and the National Committee for History and Philosophy of Science at the Australian Academy of Science) and internationally (including the Society for Social Studies of Science and its related 4S and 6S activities; and TransAsiaSTS).

The inaugural AusSTS Workshop postgraduate event was hosted in 2019 at Deakin University and was chaired by AusSTS co-founder and then convenor Thao Phan.

The inaugural AusSTS Conference was hosted in 2023 at UNSW Sydney and was chaired by then convener Mia Harrison.

AusSTS activities and events have now expanded to include local organisational nodes in Melbourne, Sydney, Darwin, Wellington, and Canberra.

Organisational Structure

The AusSTS network takes a collaborative and ECR-led approach to organisational structure. AusSTS leadership travels between local nodes across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, with each node holding a leadership position for 1 year, followed by 1 year supporting the incoming leadership node in a mentor capacity.

The AusSTS leadership model involves a local node leading the network, with a graduate student or early career researcher taking a convener role and being supported by a committee of STS-situated academics across various career stages (early career to professorial) within their node.

Current Leadership

Canberra node (2024): Dan Santos, Jessie Liu

Past Leadership

Sydney node (2022–2023): Mia Harrison (2022–2023 convener), Kari Lancaster, Matthew Kearnes, Ella Butler, Roberta Pala (2022 convener), Sophie Adams (2022 co-convener)
Melbourne node (2017–2021): Thao Phan (convener), Timothy Neale, Emma Kowal

Steering Committee

The AusSTS network steering committee is made up of academics situated within each of our local nodes across Australasia, including:

Sydney: Mia Harrison, Kari Lancaster, Matthew Kearnes, Ella Butler
Melbourne: Thao Phan, Emma Kowal, Timothy Neale, Tyler King, Carina Truyts, Sophie Adams
Darwin: Matt Barlow, Jen Macdonald, Michaela Spencer
Wellington: Courtney Addison, Max Soar, Dinithi Bowatte
Canberra: Dan Santos, Jessie Liu, Celia Roberts

Past Committee Members

Roberta Pala, Barbara Bok, Gemma Smart, Owen McNamara, Kirsty Howey