Bio
After graduating from the University of Sussex in 2010 I spent five years working in the digital media and IT industries in Brighton. In 2011 I joined my local hackerspace, Build Brighton, and shortly afterwards became a trustee. Over the next few years I organised workshops and public engagement events for Build Brighton, worked as a producer for the annual Brighton Mini Maker Faire, and visited other makerspaces and Maker Faires all over the UK.
Almost everywhere I went in the tech industry and maker community there was a noticeable lack of other women and femme people. I became interested in investigating ways to support women’s engagement with technology, and in 2015 I left my job to start a combined Masters and PhD programme at University College London. In 2016 I gained my MSc in Science, Technology & Society, and I’m currently conducting PhD research looking at how some makerspaces have been successful at building a gender diverse membership base.
Alongside my postgraduate studies I’ve taught undergraduate seminars in Science & Technology Studies at UCL, presented at various hacker and maker conferences, and contributed to technology policy and research projects.
Education
PhD Science & Technology Studies, University College London, 2022 (predicted). Thesis title: Gender, Technology, and Makerspaces. Supervisors: Dr Emily Dawson & Dr Carina Fearnley.
MSc Science, Technology & Society (Distinction), University College London, 2016. Dissertation title: Who’s in and who’s out: The state of the field of the UK maker movement.
BA (Hons) Film Studies (First Class), University of Sussex, 2010.
Research Experience
Researcher in Residence, NYC Resistor, September 2018 – November 2018.
- NYC Resistor was one of the first hackerspaces to be founded in the USA in 2007. I worked with members of the hackerspace to research and document their group’s history, culture, and initiatives to engage female members.
Research Assistant, Institute of Education, University College London, May 2017 – September 2017.
- Contributed to the successful funding application for the multi-year Making Spaces research project funded by the Lloyds Register Foundation. Project lead: Professor Louise Archer.
Teaching Experience
Postgraduate Teaching Assistant, Department of Science & Technology Studies, University College London, Autumn 2017.
- 1st year module – Science Communication & Engagement
- 2nd year module – Human Sciences in Society
Talks & Presentations
Feminist perspectives. 35th Chaos Communication Congress, Leipzig, Germany, 27-30 December 2018.
Building inclusive makerspaces. Electromagnetic Field, Eastnor, England, 31 August-2 September 2018.
Women and femmes, technology, and makerspaces. Science Policy Research Unit PhD Forum, Brighton, England, 17-18 May 2018.
Publications
O’Sullivan, E. (2018). Excellence in the maker movement. Journal of Peer Production, 12.
Awards & Scholarships
MSc STS Dissertation Prize, University College London, 2016.
ESRC 1+3 Studentship, Economic and Social Research Council, 2015.
BA Film Studies Dissertation Prize, University of Sussex, 2010.
Activism
Zoom Out, 2020.
- Initiative to push universities towards developing in-house open source remote teaching solutions during the COVID-19 pandemic, instead of adopting solutions like Zoom or Microsoft Teams whose business models are built on user data extraction.
Workshops & Events
Organiser, “Feminist Hackers & Makers”, Chaos Communication Congress, 2018.
Workshop moderator, “Building Inclusive Makerspaces”, Electromagnetic Field, 2018.
Exhibitor, Art:Work, Tate Exchange @ Tate Modern, 2017.
Organiser, Machine Ghosts (tech psychogeography tour), Haunted Random Forest Festival, 2017.
Producer, Brighton Mini Maker Faire, 2012-2015.
Organiser, Young Rewired State (coding summer school), 2012-2014.
Co-founder, Coder Dojo Brighton (coding club), 2013.
Soldering workshop facilitator, Brighton Science Festival, 2013.