Matthew Harsh

Biography

Matthew Harsh is an Assistant Professor in the Centre for Engineering in Society at Concordia University in Montreal.  He holds a BSc in Materials Science and Engineering from Northwestern University.  As a Marshall Scholar, he earned a MSc and PhD in Science and Technology Studies from the University of Edinburgh.  He has served as a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Nanotechnology in Society at Arizona State University and as a research fellow at the African Center for Technology Studies.  Harsh has been conducting research in Africa since 2004.  Much of his work is about how new and emerging technologies can improve livelihoods in Africa.  His current research topics include: capacity building for computer science research in East Africa; equity implications of nanotechnology applications for water, energy and agri-food in South Africa; the affects of political unrest on research and education in Kenya; and civil society involvement in policy making for genetically-modified crops in Kenya. He is Senior Producer of ‘Brother Time’, a documentary about political unrest after the 2007 Kenyan election.  His work can be found in many academic journals including the Journal of International Development, Science & Public Policy, Development and Change, Geoforum, and Engineering Studies.