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Department of Science and Technology Studies

Cornell University Cornell University Cornell University Science and Technology Studies

Michael Lynch


Moog

Moog

car-engine

Car Engine

Nuclear-Protest

Nuclear Protest

nuclear-power-station

Nuclear Power Station

viewing-eclipse

Viewing Eclipse Circa 1930

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Michael E. Lynch

Professor
Department of Science & Technology Studies

Lynchemail: mel27@cornell.edu
phone: 607-255-3810
room: 302 Rockefeller Hall
Office Hours, Spring 2013: T Th 4:15 - 5:15; W 4:30 - 5:30 or by appointment

Education:

  • Ph.D., Social Sciences, University of California, Irvine
  • B.S., Rural Sociology, Cornell University


Graduate Fields:

  • Science & Technology Studies
  • Department of Sociology

Awards and Distinctions:

  • Editor, Social Studies of Science:  An International Review of Research in the Social Dimensions of Science and Technology (2002 - present).
  • President Elect and President, Society for Social Studies of Science (2006-09).



 

Research Interests

Professor Michael Lynch studies discourse, visual representation, and practical action in research laboratories, clinical settings, and legal tribunals. He received the 1995 Robert K. Merton Professional award from the Science, Knowledge and Technology Section of the American Sociological Association for his book Scientific Practice and Ordinary Action. His most recent book, Truth Machine: The Contentious History of DNA Fingerprinting (with Simon Cole, Ruth McNally & Kathleen Jordan) examines the interplay between law and science in criminal cases involving DNA evidence.  The book received the 2011 Distinguished Publication Award from the Ethnomethodology/Conversation Analysis section of the American Sociological Association. He is Co-Director of the Cornell Law and Society Program. For the past nine years he has been Editor of Social Studies of Science, and in 2007-09 he was President of the Society for Social Studies of Science.

Recent Courses Taught

  • Spring 2013 - (BSOC/STS 4071) Law, Science and Public Values
    TR: 2:55-4:10, 4 Credits

  • Spring 2013 - (STS 6641) Constructionism in Social Context
    W: 2:30-4:25, 4 Credits

  • Spring 2012 - (BSOC/STS 4071) Law, Science and Public Values
    TR: 2:55-4:10, 4 Credits

  • Fall 2011 - (BSOC/STS 3011) Life Sciences and Society
    TR: 2:55-4:10, 4 Credits

  • Fall 2011 - (STS 7111) Introduction to Science & Technology Studies
    M: 2:30-4:25, 4 Credits

  • Spring 2011 - (BSOC/STS 4071) Law, Science and Public Values
    TR: 2:55-4:10, 4 Credits

  • Fall 2010 - (BSOC/STS 3011) Life Sciences and Society
    TR: 2:55-4:10, 4 Credits

  • Fall 2010 - (STS 7111) Introduction to Science & Technology Studies
    M: 2:30-4:25, 4 Credits

Selected Publications

  • Truth Machine: The Contentious History of DNA Fingerprinting (with Simon Cole, Ruth McNally and Kathleen Jordan).  Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008. 
  • Ethnomethodology (with Wes Sharrock, eds).  Sage Benchmarks in Research Methods (4 Boxed Set).  London:  Sage Publications, 2010.
  • Handbook of Science & Technology Studies (with Ed Hackett, Olga Amsterdamska and Judy Wacjman, eds).  Third Edition.  Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2007
  • "Test Objects and Other Epistemic Things: A History of a Nanoscale Object," (with Cyrus Mody).  British Journal for the History of Science, Vol. 43, 3:423-58, 2010.