Personal statement

Dr. Matthew N. Eisler researches topics in energy, environment, and society, with a focus on how ideology and policy inform practices of energy/materials conversion and shape social relations and the biosphere. Dr. Eisler’s first book (Overpotential: Fuel Cells, Futurism, and the Making of a Power Panacea, Rutgers University Press 2012) addressed these themes in a history of an advanced power source. His recent book (Age of Auto Electric: Environment, Energy, and the Quest for the Sustainable Car, MIT Press 2022) explores these ideas in a history of the contemporary electric vehicle. Dr. Eisler’s current project (Greenwork and Environmental Society) interrogates the ways environmental policy shapes science, engineering, labor, business, and consumer practices.

      Dr. Eisler invites candidates interested in doctoral studies under his supervision to contact him at matthew.eisler@strath.ac.uk. Dr. Eisler advises students in projects in science and technology studies (STS)/history of science and technology and the energy and environmental humanities relating to strategic themes of the University of Strathclyde including energy (energy conversion, power sources, transportation, grid electricity), advanced materials and manufacturing (research and development, industrial manufacturing, recycling), innovation and entrepreneurship (design and innovation culture), and people, place, and policy (urban design and energy, environmental, and industrial policy).