Since the early 2000s, a set of networks have coalesced under the umbrella of “engineering studies” to investigate the roles of engineers in science, technology, and medicine. The CHSTM working group forwards this development with a specific focus on historical questions in a forum for early stage work. Engineering studies is a small but growing group of historians, anthropologists, sociologists, engineering educators, and other science and technology studies scholars, who center engineers and engineering as their subjects of analysis. The purpose of this working group is to promote historical research on engineering in the context of the Consortium for the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine by: building a vibrant community via regular meetings with low barriers to participation; sharing work in progress among historians and other engineering studies scholars; and clarifying the role of engineering studies in the history of science, technology, and medicine.
Consortium Respectful Behavior Policy
Participants at Consortium activities will treat each other with respect and consideration to create a collegial, inclusive, and professional environment that is free from any form of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation.
Participants will avoid any inappropriate actions or statements based on individual characteristics such as age, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, nationality, political affiliation, ability status, educational background, or any other characteristic protected by law. Disruptive or harassing behavior of any kind will not be tolerated. Harassment includes but is not limited to inappropriate or intimidating behavior and language, unwelcome jokes or comments, unwanted touching or attention, offensive images, photography without permission, and stalking.
Participants may send reports or concerns about violations of this policy to conduct@chstm.org.
We will continue to co-develop a Prometheans panel for the SHOT 2025 Annual Conference, held at the Belval Campus of the University of Luxembourg, 9-11 October 2025.
All working group members are invited to join and contribute ideas for the panel.
We'll also have time for Lightning Talks (~5 minutes each): you're invited to share your current research. If you are interested in sharing your work please reach out to Ellan and Ryan (efs8@mit.edu and rhearty1@jhu.edu).
We will continue to co-develop a Prometheans panel for the SHOT 2025 Annual Conference, held at the Belval Campus of the University of Luxembourg, 9-11 October 2025.
All working group members are invited to join and contribute ideas for the panel.
We'll also have time for Lightning Talks (~5 minutes each): you're invited to share your current research. If you are interested in sharing your work please reach out to Ellan and Ryan (efs8@mit.edu and rhearty1@jhu.edu).
We will continue to co-develop a Prometheans panel for the SHOT 2025 Annual Conference, held at the Belval Campus of the University of Luxembourg, 9-11 October 2025.
All working group members are invited to join and contribute ideas for the panel.
We'll also have time for Lightning Talks (~5 minutes each): you're invited to share your current research. If you are interested in sharing your work please reach out to Ellan and Ryan (efs8@mit.edu and rhearty1@jhu.edu).
We will continue to co-develop a Prometheans panel for the SHOT 2025 Annual Conference, held at the Belval Campus of the University of Luxembourg, 9-11 October 2025.
All working group members are invited to join and contribute ideas for the panel.
We'll also have time for Lightning Talks (~5 minutes each): you're invited to share your current research. If you are interested in sharing your work please reach out to Ellan and Ryan (efs8@mit.edu and rhearty1@jhu.edu).
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Ryan Hearty is a historian of technology who studies the past in order to educate future engineering leaders. After studying engineering and philosophy as an undergraduate, he worked as an engineer for six years before earning a Ph.D. in the history of science.
Ryan's research focuses on the history of water quality management, particularly in the United States. His 2020 article on the ecological research program of Ruth Patrick won the Everett Mendelsohn prize from the Journal of the History of Biology. He has also published on the evolution of visual representations of water pollution in the Berichte zur Wissenschaftsgeschichte.
Ryan now teaches at Johns Hopkins University's Whiting School of Engineering. Ryan's current book project examines the rise of environmental engineering in the U.S. after World War II.
Ellan Spero is a historian of science and technology, educator and instructor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is an academic entrepreneur, serving as co-founder, chief curriculum officer, and lead instructor at Station1, a nonprofit higher education institution focused on a new inclusive and cross-disciplinary model of socially-directed science and technology education, research, and innovation. Dr. Spero’s research focuses on the ways that people envision human progress through the systems, institutions, objectives, and narratives that they create. As a historian working at the intersection of technology, business, and higher education, Dr. Spero’s research explores narratives of progress, systems of production, academic-industrial ecosystems, and interactions between humans and material infrastructures. Dr. Spero is a member of numerous international working groups and has presented at the Society for the History of Technology (SHOT), the Business History Conference, Society for the Social Studies of Science (4S), the European Economic History Association, and specialty conferences on World’s Expos, academic-entrepreneurship, and maintenance and innovation. Dr. Spero is a member of a research collaboration on railroads in historical context and “technological landscape” in the Tua Valley in Portugal. Most recently, she has received a fellowship from the Linda Hall Library, and has previously received fellowships from the Chemical Heritage Foundation (Science History Institute), and Hagley Museum and Library. She is currently a co-editor of special journal issue of ACS Biomaterials on bioinspired materials. At Station1, Dr. Spero has led the development of cross-disciplinary curriculum on socially-directed science and technology and is a co-lead on three grant-funded pedagogical initiatives which focus on social responsibility, inclusive innovation, and thoughtful development of science and technology. Spero was recently a visiting scientist at the Smart Living Lab at École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Fribourg, Switzerland and prior a joint researcher between MIT and the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). Dr. Spero holds a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in History, Anthropology, Science, Technology and Society. Spero also has a B.S. and M.S. from Cornell University in Fiber Science and Apparel Design, and a M.A from the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in Museum Studies and Textile Conservation.
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