Suiting Themselves

While working as a professional engineer, Sharon Beder became interested in the social and political aspects of engineering and returned to school to pursue a doctorate in that field at the University of New South Wales, Australia. Using the development of Sydney's sewer system as a case study, her doctoral research focused on engineering decision-making. She completed her Ph.D. in 1989 and published her research in the book Toxic Fish and Sewer Surfing: How Deceit and Collusion Are Destroying Our Great Beaches.

Beder's work deals mainly with environmental issues, but within that broad field her interests are varied, including environmental politics, the dynamics of environmental/technological controversies, social responsibility, the social aspects of engineering, and trends in both environmentalism and corporate activism. Her book Global Spin: The Corporate Assault on Environmentalism examines the expensive public relations and media campaigns waged by corporations in an effort to prevent the implementation of stricter environmental regulation in Australia, England, the United States, and Canada.

Other titles include The New Engineer Management and Professional Responsibility in a Changing World; The Nature of Sustainable Development; and The Hole Theory: Recent Ozone Depletion Research in the Areas of Medical, Biological and Veterinary Science, Physics, Pharmacy, and Physiology.

Beder has contributed to several books and published numerous articles and papers. She received the Michael Daley award for excellence in science, technology and engineering journalism for an article that appeared in New Scientist.

Several of Beder's books have been used as texts for college courses, and she has developed numerous other educational materials as well, particularly while serving as the Environmental Education Coordinator for the University at Sydney. In 1992, she joined the Science and Technology Studies department at Australia's University of Wollo