Govind Gopakumar, PhD

Govind Gopakumar is Chair and Associate Professor at the Centre for Engineering in Society. Govind Gopakumar received his PhD in Science and Technology Studies from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at 2008.

In his teaching at Concordia, Dr. Gopakumar has developed and taught some key courses that are required for all engineering students. He has contributed significantly, in terms of pedagogy and content, to developing the Impact of Technology on Society course and the Professional Practice and Responsibility course. Both these courses are required courses for all engineering students as mandated by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB). In Fall 2014 he developed the Professional Practice and Responsibility course as an online course. He also developed and currently teaches the Development and Global Engineering course as an elective for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in the faculty.

His research centres on the socio-political aspects of urban infrastructure and the governance of infrastructure change. His most recent book on automobility in Indian cities titled Installing Automobility: Emerging Politics of Streets and Mobilities in Indian cities is published by MIT Press in their Urban and Industrial Environments Series. Another  research interest is on processes of change in engineering education in the context of intervening in development, globalization.  

During his tenure here at Concordia, Dr. Gopakumar has scripted and directed a film (in partnership with a citizen group, Bengaluru Bus Commuter Forum) titled Social Life of a Bus, and published a single-authored book Transforming Urban Water Supplies in India that was published by Routledge. He has published articles in the Science as Culture, Geoforum, Economic and Political Weekly, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Water Policy, Water Alternatives, Mobilities, Engineering Studies, and the European Journal of Engineering Education. His research has been supported by Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Fonds de recherche du Québec - Société et culture (FRQSC), Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, IC-IMPACTS Canada-India Research Centre for Excellence established through the Canadian Networks of Centres for Excellence, and the National Science Foundation USA.