Rob Smith
@rdjs.bsky.social
Lecturer in Science & Technology Studies @ Edinburgh
Biology, Politics, Funding, Governance, Morethanhuman etc.
Our group is engineeringlife.bsky.social
Biology, Politics, Funding, Governance, Morethanhuman etc.
Our group is engineeringlife.bsky.social
Also our new book came out! It's technically a textbook, but should be a good primer for anyone trying to work out how to understand synbio in society using an approach
global.oup.com/ukhe/product...
#synbio #engbio #sts #governance
global.oup.com/ukhe/product...
#synbio #engbio #sts #governance
October 20, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Also our new book came out! It's technically a textbook, but should be a good primer for anyone trying to work out how to understand synbio in society using an approach
global.oup.com/ukhe/product...
#synbio #engbio #sts #governance
global.oup.com/ukhe/product...
#synbio #engbio #sts #governance
a collaborative researcher's packing list.
July 18, 2025 at 7:26 PM
a collaborative researcher's packing list.
I'm still not sure what to make of a meeting that in many ways replayed the meeting it was thinking with (and all the tired tropes we've learnt since then), but I am VERY into it accommodating our weird events on the beach. #asilomar #sts #synbio
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
March 10, 2025 at 1:37 AM
I'm still not sure what to make of a meeting that in many ways replayed the meeting it was thinking with (and all the tired tropes we've learnt since then), but I am VERY into it accommodating our weird events on the beach. #asilomar #sts #synbio
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Then on Tuesday at 3pm UK time, Sarah Hartley and I will be talking about our squirrels work (↓↓↓). That's online as part of the Biological Engineering Collaboratory and very much open to all. (Send me a note if you want to come)
January 29, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Then on Tuesday at 3pm UK time, Sarah Hartley and I will be talking about our squirrels work (↓↓↓). That's online as part of the Biological Engineering Collaboratory and very much open to all. (Send me a note if you want to come)
Some promo! On Monday I'll be talking about Asilomar, why old visions of governance repeat, why it's so tiring and whether there's any way out of that loop. That's in Exeter at the wonderful Egenis Centre.
January 29, 2025 at 10:09 PM
Some promo! On Monday I'll be talking about Asilomar, why old visions of governance repeat, why it's so tiring and whether there's any way out of that loop. That's in Exeter at the wonderful Egenis Centre.
This is really rare! Synthetic biologists saying the path forward is 'don't do it'.... obvious parallel is rDNA in the 60s/70s, but that's probably a red herring...
www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1...
www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1...
December 13, 2024 at 10:55 AM
This is really rare! Synthetic biologists saying the path forward is 'don't do it'.... obvious parallel is rDNA in the 60s/70s, but that's probably a red herring...
www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1...
www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1...
What do conservation managers, animal welfare experts, red squirrel advocates, foresters and land managers think about the idea of gene drive squirrels?
I think this is the most evocative piece of work I’ve ever done 🐿️…made anti-charismatic by science policy.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
I think this is the most evocative piece of work I’ve ever done 🐿️…made anti-charismatic by science policy.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
November 18, 2024 at 5:42 PM
What do conservation managers, animal welfare experts, red squirrel advocates, foresters and land managers think about the idea of gene drive squirrels?
I think this is the most evocative piece of work I’ve ever done 🐿️…made anti-charismatic by science policy.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
I think this is the most evocative piece of work I’ve ever done 🐿️…made anti-charismatic by science policy.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
What it's actually like to see the aurora in Edinburgh
October 11, 2024 at 7:12 PM
What it's actually like to see the aurora in Edinburgh
So happy that Liliana recognises me as a contributor to the scholarly field of science...definitely gonna file it in the promotion case.
July 29, 2024 at 1:00 PM
So happy that Liliana recognises me as a contributor to the scholarly field of science...definitely gonna file it in the promotion case.
We wrote a paper about some of our experiences being in and trying to create spaces for responsible innovation in #synbio and #molbot. It's a preprint so thoughts and comments would be lovely to have! #sts
Oh and it has my favourite title ever....
doi.org/10.31235/osf...
Oh and it has my favourite title ever....
doi.org/10.31235/osf...
May 15, 2024 at 10:14 PM
We wrote a paper about some of our experiences being in and trying to create spaces for responsible innovation in #synbio and #molbot. It's a preprint so thoughts and comments would be lovely to have! #sts
Oh and it has my favourite title ever....
doi.org/10.31235/osf...
Oh and it has my favourite title ever....
doi.org/10.31235/osf...
Edinburgh's AI transcription software has a brilliant new feature to autocorrect billionaires' names.
March 27, 2024 at 6:41 PM
Edinburgh's AI transcription software has a brilliant new feature to autocorrect billionaires' names.
My friends and I have a new paper about the ways that funders enact ideas like 'responsible innovation', 'ethics' etc. and what the problems with that might be. Click the link to give us ++ metrics please.
doi.org/10.1177/0306...
doi.org/10.1177/0306...
November 17, 2023 at 10:09 AM
My friends and I have a new paper about the ways that funders enact ideas like 'responsible innovation', 'ethics' etc. and what the problems with that might be. Click the link to give us ++ metrics please.
doi.org/10.1177/0306...
doi.org/10.1177/0306...
Guess Michelle is making sure she depoliticises science...
October 29, 2023 at 10:03 PM
Guess Michelle is making sure she depoliticises science...
Feeling a tiny bit Annihilation (not Natalie Portman!) on Cape Cod right now...
October 15, 2023 at 12:14 PM
Feeling a tiny bit Annihilation (not Natalie Portman!) on Cape Cod right now...
Learning how to get out of the ivory tower at the public interest technology conference from the top floor of a $305 million building overlooking the charles river.
October 12, 2023 at 11:30 PM
Learning how to get out of the ivory tower at the public interest technology conference from the top floor of a $305 million building overlooking the charles river.
Just finished a workshop on responsible innovation with a European funding programme and the main finding is...
There's ALWAYS someone with a massive post it.
There's ALWAYS someone with a massive post it.
October 12, 2023 at 12:29 PM
Just finished a workshop on responsible innovation with a European funding programme and the main finding is...
There's ALWAYS someone with a massive post it.
There's ALWAYS someone with a massive post it.
Oops...we just submitted a response to a DSIT consultation saying that attempts by government to depoliticise science were actually more likely to politicise it.
Guess we were wrong. 🙃
Guess we were wrong. 🙃
October 4, 2023 at 5:28 PM
Oops...we just submitted a response to a DSIT consultation saying that attempts by government to depoliticise science were actually more likely to politicise it.
Guess we were wrong. 🙃
Guess we were wrong. 🙃
let's see what we have here then...
October 2, 2023 at 8:04 PM
let's see what we have here then...