Section: Research Student Profiles

Meritxell Ramírez-Ollé

Name
Meritxell Ramírez-Ollé
Title
Organisation
Science Studies, School of Social and Political Science
University of Edinburgh
Address
Edinburgh UK EH1 1LZ
Telephone
E-Mail
URL
http://www.stis.ed.ac.uk/research_student_profiles/meritxell_ramirez_olle

PhD Title

Reconstructing past climates from trees: a sociological study of dendroclimatology


Research interests

My research is a sociological study of dendroclimatology.

Dendroclimatology (the study of past climates from tree-ring growth) is a scientific discipline that has gained scientific and political relevance because it might help to contextualize current climate change and delimitate future climate models scenarios. More recently, dendroclimatological practices have been the focus of public debate and criticism as a result of the Climategate email hacking, and other controversies surrounding Michael Mann's "hockey stick". 

This thesis is closely connected to the area of the sociology of scientific knowledge that studies science as a social activity and explores the social mechanisms and attitudes that make scientific knowledge possible. In particular, what I want to understand is how attitutes of trust among colleagues and public scepticism about climate science shape dendroclimatological practices and knowledge. I use ethnographic methods, interviews and documentary analysis to generate data. 

If you want to know more about the field of Science, Technology and Innovation Studies , watch the video that the Edinburgh STIS department have done. 

If you want to know more about other aspects of my professional and personal life just visit my personal website.

 PhD supervisors

Awards and Funding

  • ESRC Quota Nomination Award (‘Tuition fees’ only), studentship number: ES/I017917/1, September 2010- September 2014.
  • ‘Sa Nostra’ Foundation Scholar for Postgraduate Studies, September 2009-September 2010.
  • Scholarship for last year undergraduate students [‘Beca collaboració per a estudiants d’últim curs’], Spanish Ministry of Education and Sports, December 2008- March 2009.
  • ERASMUS studentship, Univerzita Karlove v Praze (University of Charles), Prague, Czech Republic, September 2007- February 2008.

Qualifications

  • 2011. MSc by Research with distinction in Science and Technology Studies, University of Edinburgh, Scotland. 
  • 2010. MSc in Science and Technology Policy and Management, University of Edinburgh, Scotland.
  • 2004-2009. B.Sc. in Political Science and Administration, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Catalonia.
  • 2009. Teaching Certificate, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Catalonia.

Teaching experience

  • Social and Political Enquiry [2010, 2011: Tutor]
  • Introduction to Sustainable Development  [2011, 2012: Senior Tutor]
  • Science and the Environment [2011, 2012: Senior Tutor]
  • Sociology 1A: The sociological Imagination: Individuals and Society [2012: Tutor]
  • Doing and Designing Social Research [2012: Tutor]

 

University involvement 

  • 2011. Elaboration of the market research report for MSc Programme in Science, Technology and Innovation. 
  • 2010- 2012. Research co-representative for Science, Technology and Innovation Studies.

 

 

 

 


 

This page was published on 7 December 2012


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