Speakers

Speaker profile

Fionagh is a visual ethnographer (environmental, space science, medical & disruptive technologies) and ethicist. She moves across disciplines studying the everyday world focusing on what we do – not what we think we do. She is a senior research fellow in the Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy (Durham university), where she studies the darker side of Space, dark skies, dark matter – and the geopolitical nature of space policy.  Research interests include: responsible innovation/satellite design; hydrogen energy; greening sea ports; UX design methods ; the extension of human senses/bodies through technologies, and the mythical rise of robots/AI over humans.  Currently she is mapping out the state of knowledge on the environmental impact on the atmosphere of burning up satellites on re-entry (funded by UK space Agency).

Her background includes visual anthropology, human geography, environmental ethics (‘land’ rights) and philosophy of technology.  Fieldwork locations include the rainforests of Papua New Guinea, the islands of the Scottish Hebrides, an earth observation start-up, the consulting spaces of hospitals and, more recently, mountain-top astronomical observatories in Spain. Previous projects include the conflict between sufficiency and safety in blood manufacturing, the relationship between creative arts and wellbeing in later life, the role of IT within health professional-patient interactions during the consultation, and the social, ethical and technical implications of a European Nanomedicine (lab-on-a-chip) project.