Michael Nitschmann is a doctoral researcher in the Innovation Network ‘Governing Transformative Technologies’ funded by the Excellence Strategy of the Federal Government and the Länder. The project aims to understand the ambivalence of positive and negative sociotechnical impacts of transformative technologies in order to democratically shape innovation in pursuit of society.
After completing his B. Sc. In aerospace engineering, Michael changed his study program and did his M. A. in Science and Technology Studies (STS) at the STS Department of the Technical University of Munich. His master's thesis focused on a systematic analysis of STS engagements and the roles of researchers in socio-technical transformation to sustainability.
His PhD project examines the normative and political dimensions of energy futures. Based on the assumption that ideas and projections about future energy systems influence our actions in the present, he seeks to understand how these imaginations take shape, which pathways they open up or close down, and how they become credible. His research focuses on a comparative study of deep geothermal energy in the energy transition.
Winter semester 2023/24:
- Immersion Project
Sommer semester 2024:
- STS Core Topic: The Age of Engagement: Critical Reflection on Democratizing Science and Technology
- MINT Orientierungssemester: Technik, Nachhaltigkeit und Gesellschaft
Winter semester 2024/25:
Sommersemester 2025:
- MINT Orientierungssemester: Technik, Nachhaltigkeit und Gesellschaft
Current course offerings:
Beck, S. & Nitschmann, M. (2023). Mapping the possibilities for STS to actively engage in democratic and sustainable climate futures. STS-Austria conference 2023
Rentrop, C. & Nitschmann, M. (2023). Circulating Expertise for Regional Innovation. STS-hub.de 2023
Beck, S. & Nitschmann, M. (2022). Tunnel vision of transformation: On the co-production of sustainability transformation and social contracts (translated). GWTF Jahrestagung 2022