Assoc.-Prof. Dr. Maximilian Fochler

Deputy Head of Department
Vice Director of the Studies Programme Sociology

Tel: +43-1-4277-49613

eMail: maximilian.fochler@univie.ac.at

Consultation hours:
Wednesday, 14:00 - 15:00

To register, please send an e-mail, at least two days beforehand.

Biography

Maximilian Fochler is associate professor and deputy head of the Department of Science and Technology Studies. His main research area is science and knowledge cultures. His recent research work focuses on forms of knowledge production at the interface of science and other societal domains (such as the economy), as well as on the impact of new forms of governing science on academic knowledge production.

From 2011 to 2014, his APART-project “Living and working in the hothouses of innovation” studied how people live, work and produce knowledge in hybrid spaces at the interfaces of academia and business, such as for example biotech startup companies. Focussing on the life sciences in the Vienna region, Max Fochler was particularly interested how the specifics of place and local context come to matter in these new contexts of producing knowledge and innovations. In the framework of this project, he worked as a guest researcher at Oslo University and the Berlin Social Science Centre.

The Apart project continued a long standing interest in the changing cultures of living, working and producing knowledge in the life sciences, and in the social and ethical dimension of these changes. During his PostDoc in the project “Living Changes in the Life Sciences”, Max Fochler had the opportunity to study these changes in the academic life sciences in Austria.

During his PhD, he worked on several projects which focussed on the relations between science and society, in the life sciences and beyond. His PhD thesis, entitled „Participating in which kind of governance?“ dealt with citizen perspectives on the concepts of governance and public participation in the life sciences. It has been awarded the “Award of Excellence” for the best Austrian dissertations by the Federal Minister of Research in 2008.

Maximilian Fochler has had the opportunity to contribute to the establishment of the new master programme Science-Technology-Society, for which he is responsible as Deputy Director of Studies from 2014. Together with colleagues, he received the University of Vienna teaching award for the development of a case based learning approach in the basic modules of this program.

Current Research Interests

the shifting cultures and practices of contemporary knowledge production
issues of science and democracy, in particular concerning the governance of innovation
the relations between techno-sciences and their publics

Publikationen

Sigl, L., Felt, U., & Fochler, M. (Accepted/In press). “I am primarily paid for publishing ...” The narrative framing of societal responsibilities in academic life science research. Science and Engineering Ethics.

Sigl, L., & Fochler, M. (2019). Gemeinsam oder einsam? Über den Umgang mit Unsicherheiten in Biotech und akademischer Forschung. Laborjournal, 2019(7-8), 40-43.

Felt, U., & Fochler, M. (2018). Der gesellschaftliche Impact sozialwissenschaftlichen Wissens in Österreich: Wirkungswege, Messung, Potentiale: Eine explorative Studie. Institut für Wissenschafts- und Technikforschung, Universität Wien.

Felt, U. (Author), Fochler, M. (Author), Richter, A. (Author), Schroeder, R. (Author), & Sigl, L. (Author). (2018). How to weave societal responsibility into the fabric of universities. Web publication, Reflections - Blog of the STS Department at the University of Vienna. Retrieved from blog.sts.univie.ac.at/2018/09/06/how-to-weave-societal-responsibility-into-the-fabric-of-universities/

Felt, U., Fochler, M., Richter, A., Schroeder, R., & Sigl, L. (2018). Scientific excellence and social relevance are two sides of the same coin. Times Higher Education.

Fochler, M., & Sigl, L. (2018). Anticipatory Uncertainty: How Academic and Industry Researchers in the Life Sciences Experience and Manage the Uncertainties of the Research Process Differently. Science as Culture, 27(3), 349-374. doi.org/10.1080/09505431.2018.1485640

Fochler, M. (2018). Book Review: Stephen Hilgartner, Reordering life: Knowledge and control in the genomics revolution. Public Understanding of Science, 1012-1013.

Fochler, M. (2018). How entrepreneurs learn in their region: entrepreneurial strategies, financialisation and narrative learning in the Vienna biotechnology cluster. Triple Helix, 5(7). doi.org/10.1186/s40604-018-0055-7

Felt, U., Fochler, M., & Sigl, L. (2018). IMAGINE RRI. A card-based method for reflecting on responsibility in life science research. Journal of Responsible Innovation, 5(2), 201-224. doi.org/10.1080/23299460.2018.1457402

Leisyte, L., & Fochler, M. (2018). Topical collection of the Triple Helix Journal: Agents of change in university- industry-government-society relationships. Triple Helix, 5(10). doi.org/10.1186/s40604-018-0056-6

Fochler, M., & De Rijcke, S. (2017). Implicated in the Indicator Game? An Experimental Debate. Engaging Science, Technology, and Society, 3, 21-40. doi.org/10.17351/ests2017.108

Felt, U., Fochler, M., Müller, R., & Nowotny, H. (2017). Re-imagining and re-legitimising the university - Where past and future imaginaries meet. In Austrian Council for Research and Technology Development (Ed.), Prospects and future tasks of universities: Digitalization - internationalization - differentiation (pp. 25-42). LIT Verlag.

Felt, U., Fochler, M., Müller, R., & Nowotny, H. (2017). Was ist, was soll eine Universität sein? : Imaginaries von gestern und morgen. In Rat für Forschung und Technologieentwicklung (Ed.), Zukunft und Aufgaben der Hochschulen: Digitalisierung - Internationalisierung - Differenzierung (pp. 25-45). LIT Verlag.

Fochler, M., Felt, U., & Müller, R. (2016). Unsustainable growth, hyper-competition, and worth in life science research: Narrowing evaluative repertoires in doctoral and postdoctoral scientists’ work and lives. Minerva, 54(2), 175-200. doi.org/10.1007/s11024-016-9292-y

Fochler, M. (2016). Beyond and between academia and business: How Austrian biotechnology researchers describe high-tech startup companies as spaces of knowledge production. Social Studies of Science, 46(2), 259-281. doi.org/10.1177/0306312716629831

Fochler, M. (Author). (2016). Can competition hurt science?. Web publication, Reflections - Blog of the STS Department at the University of Vienna. Retrieved from blog.sts.univie.ac.at/2016/05/02/can-competition-hurt-science/

Fochler, M. (2016). Variants of epistemic capitalism: knowledge production and the accumulation of worth in commercial biotechnology and the academic life sciences. Science, Technology & Human Values, 41(5), 922-948. doi.org/10.1177/0162243916652224

Felt, U., & Fochler, M. (2015). A Very Brief Story of the Department of Science and Technology Studies at Vienna University. EASST Review, 34(4), 29-34.

Fochler, M. (Interviewee). (2015). Humboldt, Bologna, Taxi fahren. Zum Thema: Zukunft der Universität. Diagonal - Radio für Zeitgenoss/innen. Radio show, Österreichische Rundfunk (Ö1).

Aarden, E., Felder, K. F., Felt, U., Fochler, M., Öchsner, S., Penkler, M., Pichelstorfer, A., & Schuh, D. (2015). How does living and working in research change?. Poster session presented at Wie gestaltet Technik unser Leben? Open House am Institut für Wissenschaft- und Technikforschung, Wien, Austria.