Toluwalogo Odumosu

Cite as:

Okune, Angela. 2018. "Toluwalogo Odumosu." In STS in "Africa" Personal Careers. In STS in "Africa" in Formation, created by Angela Okune and Aadita Chaudhury. In STS Across Borders Digital Exhibit, curated by Aalok Khandekar and Kim Fortun. Society for Social Studies of Science. August.

Meta-Narrative

Tolu Odumosu is an STS scholar who studies technological systems as historically and culturally situated socio-technical systems. Odumosu’s first book, “Cycles of Invention and Discovery” (Harvard University Press, October 2016) examines the Science and Technology enterprise in the United States and shows how standardized categories of “basic” and “applied” research have become a hindrance. The book grew out of his examination of research cultures at Bell Laboratories while working on telecommunication systems and communication standards in Africa and the United States. He is currently working on a monograph of mobile telephony systems in Nigeria showing how their design and consequent development reflect the contingencies of Nigerian engineers and the practices of their users. He is also building the Digital Privacy Research Laboratory at SEAS.

This PECE essay helps to answer the STS Across Borders analytic question: “What people, projects, and products exemplify how this STS formation has developed over time?”

This essay highlights prominant and upcoming individuals working on critical science and technology issues in Africa and is part of a broader exhibit on "STS in Africa."

STS Across Borders In Brief

STS Across Borders is a special exhibit organized by the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) to showcase how the field of Science and Technology Studies (STS) has developed in different times, places...Read more

Subrahmanian, Eswaran, Toluwalogo Odumosu, and Jeffry Tsao, eds. 2018. Engineering a Better Future: Interplay between Engineering, Social Sciences and Innovation. 1st ed. 2018 edition. New York, NY: Springer.

Abstract: "This book examines how the social sciences can be integrated into the praxis of engineering and science, presenting unique perspectives on the interplay between engineering and social science. Motivated by the report by the Commission on Humanities and Social Sciences of the...Read more

Narayanamurti, Venkatesh, and Toluwalogo Odumosu. 2016. Cycles of Invention and Discovery: Rethinking the Endless Frontier. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.

Abstract: " Cycles of Invention and Discovery offers an in-depth look at the real-world practice of science and engineering. It shows how the standard categories of “basic” and “applied” have become a hindrance to the organization of the U.S. science and technology enterprise...Read more