bio

Professor Anne Beaulieu, Aletta Jacobs Chair of Knowledge Infrastructures for Sustainability at Campus Fryslân and Director of the Data Research Centre, University of Groningen. She recently developed the minor programme Data Wise: Data Science in Society with Gert Stulp. Beaulieu’s research focuses on diversity and complexity in knowledge infrastructures, with particular attention to digital data assemblages and interfaces for the creation and circulation of knowledge for liveable futures. She is co-author of three books on knowledge and technology (see Books page) and has published widely the significance of ethnographic methods for the study of data practices. Beaulieu is Fellow of IAS in Amsterdam (2023-2024), and was Visiting Research Fellow at the Pufendorf Institute for Advanced Studies, Lund University, Sweden (2017–2018) and Visiting Professor at the Science and Technology Studies Department of the University of Vienna, Austria (2018). Between September 2018 and August 2002, she co-coordinated the PhD training network of the Netherlands Graduate Research School of Science, Technology and Modern Culture (WTMC). She has has developed numerous innovative courses in the major programme Responsible Planet at University College Fryslân (See teaching page). She is editor of the series Liveable Futures at Amsterdam University Press.

Acknowledgements: Research is an essentially social entreprise. Wonderful collaborators, co-authors, mentors and friends have contributed to the development of activities detailed on this site in big and small ways. Support from many funding bodies is also gratefully acknowledged. Most photos on this site taken by Maarten Derksen and Tina Lantink.

Employment

Current positions

• 2023-24 Research Fellow of Institute for Advanced Study and the Data Science Centre of the University of Amsterdam.
• Since April 2021, Professor and Aletta Jacobs Chair of Knowledge Infrastructures, U. of Groningen
• Since March 2019, Director Data Research Centre, U. of Groningen
• Sept 2018-August 2022, Scientific Coordinator PhD training, Research School WTMC
• Sept 2018-March 2021, Associate Professor of Science and Technology Studies, U. of Groningen
• April 2018-December 2018, Coordinator Impact Project, Seconded to CWTS, Leiden University
• 2015-May 2018, Programme Manager Energysense, University of Groningen
• 2011-2014, Project Manager Groningen Energy and Sustainability Programme, U. of Groningen
• 2005-2011, Senior Research Fellow and Deputy Programme Leader, Virtual Knowledge Studio, KNAW, Amsterdam
• 2001-2005, Senior Research Fellow and Deputy Programme Leader, Virtual Knowledge Studio, KNAW, Amsterdam
• 1999-2001, Lecturer in Science, Culture and Communication, (equivalent to assistant professor, tenure track), Department of Psychology, University of Bath, UK
• 1995-1999, Sessional Instructor, Department of Science & Technology Dynamics, University of Amsterdam
• 1992-1993, Teaching and Research Assistant, Department of English, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
• 1992-93, Research Assistant, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Professional and Editorial Activities

• 2023- chair of editorial board, series Liveable Futures at Amsterdam University Press.
• 2022-22 Chair NWO evaluation committee/voorzitterschap NWO beoordelingscommissie ‘KIC Samenwerking in missiegedreven innovatie’
• 2022 to present, Board Member, Data Friesland
• 2021 to present, Lid Programmacommissie, Bevorderen van Verantwoorde Onderzoekspraktijken (BVO), ZonMV
• 2020 to present, Editorial Board Member of APRIA, ARTEZ Platform for Research Interventions of the Arts
• 2020 to 2022, Board member, King of the Meadows
• 2017 to 2022, Board Member of the NIAS-Lorentz advisory board
• 2017 to 2023, Board member Studium Generale Groningen
• 2001 to present, Member of WTMC, National research school Science, Technology and Modern Culture (science studies research network)
• January 2002 to 2005, Visiting Fellow, Science Studies Centre, University of Bath (UK)
• 2002 to present, Reviewer for NSF (US), Wellcome Trust (UK), ESRC (UK), King Baudouin Foundation (Belgium), Temple University Press (US), Cornell University Press (US), Sage (UK), Social Studies of Science, Science, Technology and Human Values, Handbook of Science and Technology Studies, New Media and Society, Science Studies, Journal of the Association for Information Systems, Science as Culture, Forum Qualitative Research, Social Science & Medicine, Ethnography, Computer Supported Cooperative Work, Field Methods, Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, Public Understanding of Science, Organization, Science in Context, Data Science Journal, Big Data and Society
• Member of MacArthur-UCHRI Digital Media and Learning Initiative, Group on Community Protocol on ethics and data-sharing, 2010.
• Member of KNAW programme committee on Computational Humanities, 2009-2010.
• Member of the E-science panel of the Swedish Research Council, 2009.
• Member of the OECD expert committee on data sharing, 2001-2003.

Education

• 2000 Ph.D. Department of Science & Technology Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Dissertation: The Space inside the Skull: Digital Representations, Brain Mapping and Cognitive Neuroscience in the Decade of the Brain, Promotor: Professor Stuart Blume.
• 1994 M.A. Thesis: The Truth of the Trace: Constructing the Power of the Medical Image, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
• 1992 B.A. (with distinction), McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Past projects

• DATA Theme: During the academic year 2017-2018, Energysense engaged in a collaborative project with the University of Lund on the theme “DATA: enabling us to better store, observe and understand what we measure”. As International Visiting Research Fellow at the Pufendorf Institute, I contributed to the DATA theme. Together with a number of colleagues from Lund and abroad, the theme harnessed a broad range of expertise in order to find solutions to challenges of data curation, visualisation, discovery and prediction, as well as reflect on cross-disciplinary collaboration, including reflexivity in data research, trust and reliability. In the course of the year, exchanges and visits between the participants will took place, culminating in a closing 3-day conference entitled “Opportunities and Challenges in the Future Use of Data”.. More details.
• STS, University of Vienna: In March 2018, I joined the University of Vienna as a visiting professor, to contribute to the Master of Arts ‘Science – Technology – Society’. My contribution focused on the The Informational Turn in Energy and Sustainability.
• Energysense, was a large-scale socio-technical infrastructure for energy data. Energysense served research, innovation and engagement purposes. I developed and lead the implementation of this flagship project at the Energy Academy Europe and the University of Groningen.
• Picturing the Brain: Perspectives on Neuroimaging. PhD co-supervision, Rita Elmkvist Nilsen. Project description.
• The ‘Neuro-turn’ in European Social Sciences and Humanities: Impacts of neurosciences on economics, marketing and philosophy–NESSHI. NESSHI is an European ORA project.

• Enhancing Scholarly Publishing in the Humanities and Social Sciences: Innovation through Hybrid Forms of Publication.
• Virtual Knowledge. Edited collection. Paul Wouters, Anne Beaulieu, Andrea Scharnhorst and Sally Wyatt (eds), published  with MIT Press.
• Network Realism: making knowledge from databases of images on the web. See project blog.
• Alfalab: digital humanities and VREs at the KNAW. See project blog.

Where I’m from

I grew up in city called Moncton, a regional service and cultural centre in an economically deprived part of Canada. As part of the minority Acadian (French-speaking) community, I developed a rather complex and sometimes fierce view of language politics and of centre/periphery issues–which comes with its highly specific kind of humor (Acadieman!). At 18, I went to McGill University, and from there moved to Amsterdam where I did my PhD.

Since 2007, I’ve been living in the fabulous northern city of Groningen with my husband and son (a UK millennium baby). I was a long-time member of the Groningen section of Stitch&Bitch, love working with all kinds of textiles, and am an avid bio-oriented scuba diver, in the past with Hydrofiel in Groningen and with Oceanus in Zeeland. More recently, I took up water polo, as supporter,  as member of the water polo committee of TriVia , and for a few years as a recreational player.

My newest passion is triathlon and I am a member of GVAV. My first multi-sport event was a swim-run organised by Tritanium in 2017. In Summer 2018, I took part in the Speedman sprint (Groningen). A year later, this black and orange number saw me through the European Championship (Weert).

In 2020, I trained for the middle distance event (1.9-90-21) at Didam (Achterhoek, Gelderland), which got cancelled due to the pandemic.I channeled my fitness into a do-it-yourself 90km bike-run challenge (parking lot photo). 

In 2021, the goal was to recover from a bout of covid-19, to enjoy some fun multi-sport events (jumping into the Waddensea from a boat), do a half-marathon in September, and dream up the next big challenge. In 2022, I trained for 70.3 Westfriesland, but was derailed by a positive covid test three days before the event.

3X=scheepsrecht… after training in 2023, I finished my first 70.3 in Hoorn (70.3 Westfriesland) under very warm conditions. Heading to this event once again in 2024!