Prof Sujatha Raman

I am an interdisciplinary social researcher and educator with core expertise in how science, innovation, society and matters of public interest intersect.

My work takes me into the heart of scientific knowledge production, technological systems and the science/policy interface as well as into issues commonly designated as ‘social’ ones, notably, community perspectives, everyday practices and questions of justice. My partnerships span both global North and global South settings.

I have led and supported numerous research and research training collaborations between scientists, engineers and social scientists on how best to understand, communicate and respond to our shared planetary challenge of creating sustainable futures.

Drawing on my background in science, technology and society studies (STS) and public and international affairs, I am currently working on one of the foremost questions for universities today.

How do we foster the kinds of productive engagement we need between diverse forms of knowledge and experience if we are to transform our energy and environmental systems, innovation systems, patterns of resource use and systems of governance? Can these engagements generate new and better ways of approaching climate and sustainable development goals?  

Excited by the opportunity to pursue these interests from within the lively field of science communication, I moved to Australia in mid-2018, joining CPAS and taking up the newly created role of Associate Director (Research) which I fulfilled until mid-2024 before moving on to consolidate our UNESCO Chair program. I continue to serve on the College of Science Reconciliation Action Plan Committee. I am Associate Editor of the Journal of Responsible Innovation and Engaging Science, Technology and Society.

With the support of CPAS and ANU, I lead the UNESCO Chair in Science Communication for the Public Good, a flagship program exploring transformative ways of bringing science, technology and innovation to bear on the UN 2030 and post-2030 Agendas. I convene graduate and undergraduate courses on Science, Technology and Public Policy and on Science Communication for Planetary Crises (former title: Cross-Cultural Perspectives in Science Communication).

I was previously Co-director of the Institute for Science and Society (ISS), University of Nottingham (UK) and Director of the Leverhulme Research Programme, ‘Making Science Public’.

I have received many externally funded research grants including: in Australia, from the Australian Academy of Science, CSIRO and the Wellcome Trust and in the UK, from the Leverhulme Trust, UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF), Sciencewise-ERC, UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research council (BBSRC). 

As well as scholarly publications, I write for public and policy audiences including most recently, ‘The Contextualization Deficit: Reframing Trust in Science for Multilateral Policy’, a 2023 collaboration with the International Science Council’s think-tank, the Centre for Science Futures. I have supervised numerous PhD students from a wide variety of backgrounds including natural sciences, engineering, law and politics, sociology, human geography and the humanities (18 completions as of 2024).

For the most up-to-date list of my publications, have a look at my ORCID or Google Scholar pages. 

PhD in Public policy and International Affairs (University of Pittsburgh)

M.S in Science and technology studies (Virginia Tech)

B.Sc in Physics (University of Madras)

Scientific expertise, evidence assessment and public policy 

Energy Transitions, the Materials/Energy Nexus and local and global justice

Communicating environmental change, equity and sustainable futures

Emerging technologies, Responsible innovation (RI) or responsible research and innovation (RRI)

Socio-technical integration of knowledge and innovation for global challenges and UN SDGs 

Antimicrobial resistance from an environmental and social systems perspective