Open-Source Lab Automation

Ongoing

I am thinking and writing about open-source lab automation and its implications for scientific practice. Drawing on my expertise in philosophy, HCI, and systems design, I inquire into how automation shapes the material conditions of scientific knowledge production, especially in the context of open source platforms. In my writing, I explore how these platforms challenge the notion of fully autonomous science, shifting the focus from hands-free efficiency to machine stewardship––where scientists need to engage in maintenance, customization, and calibration rather than passive tool use.

Building on Gilbert Simondon’s concept of open machines, I argue that open-source automation requires not just a shift in modular machine design but in experimental culture as well, requiring new forms of engagement with scientific tools. My work frames lab automation as an evolving, participatory practice, emphasizing collaborative openness, modularity, and reconfiguration as essential traits of an open scientific culture.

This project is supported by NSF grant #2229018.

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