Dr Declan Kuch
Dr Declan Kuch is a Vice-Chancellor’s Senior Research Fellow. Declan is a sociologist of knowledge and emerging technologies. His research spans the social dimensions of the climate and energy transition, automation and the life sciences. His current projects are: (1) The social license dimensions of energy technologies. This projects centres on collaborations through the International Energy Agency's User-Centred Energy Systems Technology Collaboration Program examining demand-side management technologies for households and energy communities. (2) Social dimensions of technology ethics. A collaborative project that has culminated in the co-edited volume, ‘Economies of Virtue’ through INC Press (2022). (3) Knowledge, Creativity and Democracy. The Lively Labs pilot project has brought humanities, design and social science students in contact with leading STEM researchers to produce creative artefacts.
Dr Kuch has published widely on topics related to climate change policy, energy and science policy, including ‘The Rise and Fall of Carbon Emissions Trading’ (2015, Palgrave McMillan’s Energy and Environment Series edited by David Elliot). He has also consulted to the Australian Council of Learned Academies on public engagement with science and technology.
Qualifications
- PhD, 2012, University of New South Wales, Australia
- BA(Honours), 2006, University of New South Wales, Australia
- BA SocSc, 2005, Macquarie University, Australia
Research Focus
- Climate policy
- Energy technologies
- Social license issues with science and technology
- Diverse Economies
- Social dimensions of automation
Selected Publications
Green, F. and Kuch, D. (2022) ‘Counting Carbon or Counting Coal? Anchoring climate governance in fossil fuel-based accountability frameworks’ in Global Environmental Politicshttps://doi.org/10.1162/glep_a_00654
Morgan, B & Kuch, D 2020, ‘Law and Diverse Economies’, in Gibson, K, Healy, S, & Dombrowski, K (ed.), Handbook of Diverse Economies, Edward Elgar
Morgan, B & Kuch, D 2015, ‘Radical Transactionalism: Legal Consciousness, Diverse Economies, and the Sharing Economy.’ Journal of Law and Society, vol. 42, no.4, pp.556-587.
Kuch, D 2017, ‘“Fixing” climate change through carbon capture and sequestration: situating industrial risk cultures’. Futures: Special Issue on ‘Environmental Anticipation’ http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2017.02.001
Kuch, D & Morgan, B 2016, ‘The Socio-Legal Implications of the New Politics of Climate Change’, UNSW Law Journal vol. 39, no. 4
Kuch, D & Morgan, B 2015, ‘Dissonant Justifications: an organisational perspective of support for Australian Community energy’, People Place and Policy, vol. 9, no.3, pp.177-189.
Kuch, D, Kearnes, M, & Gulson, K 2020, ‘The Promise of Precision: Infrastructures and Evidence Making in Medicine, Agriculture and Education’ Policy Studies special section ‘The Politcial Economy of Digital Data’ https://doi.org/10.1080/01442872.2020.1724384
Phan T., Goldenfein J., Mann M., & Kuch, D. (2021) ‘Economies of Virtue: The Circulation of ‘Ethics’ in Big Tech’, Science as Culture, https://doi.org/10.1080/09505431.2021.1990875
Kuch, D 2015, The Rise and Fall of Carbon Emissions Trading, Palgrave MacMillan, Basingstoke, United Kingdom.
