Accepting PhD Students

PhD projects

sustainable HCI, digital sociology, smart technology, energy futures, feminist technoscience, feminist HCI, ethical algorithms and AI, robot-human interaction, social practice theory, household consumption

20052025

Research activity per year

Personal profile

Biography

Yolande Strengers is a digital sociologist and human-computer interaction professor investigating the sustainability and inclusion impacts of digital and smart technologies, including emerging forms of AI. At Monash University, she leads the Energy Futures research program in the Emerging Technologies Research Lab, which undertakes critical interdisciplinary and international research into the social, cultural and experiential dimensions of the design, use and futures of new and emerging technologies.

Within the Faculty of Information Technology (IT), Yolande is the inaugural Associate Dean for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. She is also an Associate Director (Consumers) at the Monash Energy Institute. 

Yolande undertakes design ethnographic research to understand how people (and sometimes their pets) incorporate new technologies into their everyday lives and homes. Past and current partners include ANZ Bank, Ausgrid, AusNet Services, Energy Consumers Australia and Intel Corporation.

Yolande has published widely across the fields of sociology, geography, human-computer interaction design, media and communications studies, and science and technology studies. Her books include The Smart Wife (MIT Press 2020, co-authored with Dr Jenny Kennedy) and Smart Energy Technologies in Everyday Life (Palgrave McacMillan 2013). She holds a PhD from RMIT University (Social Science), a Masters in International Urban and Environmental Management (RMIT University), and a Bachelor of Arts (Deans Scholars Program, Monash University).

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 1 - No Poverty
  • SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
  • SDG 5 - Gender Equality
  • SDG 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation
  • SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy
  • SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production
  • SDG 13 - Climate Action

Education/Academic qualification

International Urban and Environmental Management, Master of Social Science, RMIT University

Award Date: 1 Aug 2012

Social Science, Doctor of Philosophy, RMIT University

Award Date: 1 Mar 2010

Geography, Bachelor of Arts, Monash University

Award Date: 1 Jan 2001

Research area keywords

  • energy futures
  • Smart grid
  • Digital sociology
  • Digital technologies
  • Smart home
  • emerging technologies
  • Consumption
  • Gender in STEM
  • Inclusion
  • Sustainability
  • Gender and diversity
  • AI
  • robotic assistants

Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

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