Dr R. Zeiss

Research profile

My research interests centre around standardization, classification, regulation and governance in/of science and technology; science-policy boundary work and knowledge brokerage; science and technology in and for development; upset(ting) boundaries around bio(logical) objects. Within these three broader themes I particularly focus on science and technology developments around water, sanitation, public health, nature and the environment, nanotechnologies, and biotechnologies and new biological artefacts that are currently disrupting the conventional boundaries and identities of biological forms.

Research projects

Projects I have been involved in include: 

  • ‘Nanotechnologies for development in India, Kenya and The Netherlands—Towards a framework for democratic governance of risks in developing countries’ (NWO/WOTRO - http://www.nano-dev.org/)
  • 'Bio-objects and their boundaries: governing matters at the intersection of society, politics, and science' (EU-COST-  European Cooperation in Science and Technology - http://www.univie.ac.at/bio-objects).
  • ‘Brokering Environmentally Sustainable Sanitation for Europe’ (BESSE; EU-FP7 - http://www.besse-project.info/)
  • ‘Science, Ethics and Technological Responsibility in Developing and Emerging Countries’ (SET-DEV; EU-FP7- http://www.set-dev.eu/)
  • 'Rethinking political judgement and science-based expertise: boundary work at the science/politics nexus by Dutch knowledge institutes (NWO)

 

Recent publications