Vassiliki Betty Smocovitis
Professor, History of Science
Departments of Biology and History, University of Florida
December, 2015
I am a senior historian of science at a large comprehensive American land-grant public university, yet I have few opportunities for substantive intellectual discussions in my primary field. Indeed, since 2008 when our small, but active graduate program was cut in the kind of restructuring that has been too common in colleges and universities, I have been largely isolated from basic activities such as working with colleagues at designing new courses, hosting seminar speakers or having conferences, and most importantly, having the kinds of active learning experiences one has in a graduate-oriented research and teaching setting. The Consortium's community has helped fill that void by enabling me to interact with both junior and senior scholars, all over the world, as both a participant as well as convener in their marvelous working groups. I have been able to not only read some excellent new literature that I didn’t know existed, but to be able to learn from the many younger people who are shaping the field, and will continue to shape the field, after I am long gone.The Consortium's community has helped fill a void by enabling me to interact with both junior and senior scholars, all over the world... read more
James Poskett
Darwin College, University of Cambridge
Former Research Fellow
December, 2015
Writing a transatlantic history of science simply would not have been possible without the support of the Consortium. ... read moreMy research into the history of connections between British, French and American science in the nineteenth century was going well. But based in Britain, I only had one side of the story. To complete my history, I needed to search in the rich collections of Philadelphia: the American Philosophical Society, the Academy of Natural Sciences, and the Library Company. My time as a Research Fellow not only had a profound effect on my research, resulting in an article in a major academic journal, it also changed the course of my career. At the Consortium I took part in a regular reading group and even gave a public lecture as part of the Consortium’s annual programme. Those kinds of connections (and friends) are the basis of all good scholarship. Writing transatlantic history means engaging with collections and scholars on both sides of the pond. The Consortium understands and cultivates that like no one else.
Angela N.H. Creager
Philip and Beulah Rollins Professor of History, Princeton University
President, History of Science Society
November, 2014
No organization is doing a better job than the Center of connecting historians of science, technology and medicine to each other, to libraries and archives, and to the human and financial resources that make the field so vibrant right now.
Joseph D. Martin
Lyman Briggs College, Michigan State University
Former Dissertation Writing Fellow
November, 2014
The scaffolding that the Center builds around the humanistic studies of the sciences engenders a collaborative spirit that promotes open, interdisciplinary discourse. ... read more Moreover, it eases the barriers that often keep people at different institutions apart. My time at the Center has conditioned my thinking about scholarly collaboration. Since my fellowship, I have frequently drawn on my experience in Philadelphia to build connections between people who might not otherwise have seen their work as related. I have directed my colleagues to archival collections housed at consortium institutions, and recommended work by scholars whose papers I helped workshop. In this way, I see how the Center has a national impact. The researchers I met who passed through Philadelphia on short term research fellowships were studying a wide range of topics from an equally broad set of perspectives, but each of them was encouraged to engage with the ecumenical intellectual ecology the Center supports.
Richard Staley
Department of History and Philosophy of Science
University of Cambridge
December, 2013
Somehow, the Philadelphia Area Center for History of Science has thoroughly changed the meaning of “Area,” while also showing new ways to realise fellowship and community in scholarship. ... read more On several occasions getting their monthly list of events while in Madison or Cambridge has led me to rue the fact that I couldn’t travel, but also had me looking up the work of people I didn’t yet know because I learned they were giving a paper in a town I may never visit. A little more directly, sitting in on a few workshop discussions via Skype has engaged me in conversations with a density of interchange I rarely find even in my home departments, because it's not all that often that historians of my stripe get the chance to gather in crowds. And then there was the visceral pleasure of actually attending a re-founded Joint Atlantic Seminar in Philadelphia last summer, which gave a strong understanding of new currents of scholarship in the history of the physical sciences. That’s some Area, and an impressive Center! Thank you for helping us realise new ways to meet and get to work.
Michael Gordin
Rosengarten Professor of Modern and Contemporary History
Princeton University
December 2013
I have been involved with the Center since its foundation, and I obviously had high hopes for it at the start. Nothing, however, has prepared me for the astonishing and rapid success of this organization as a facilitator of research, teaching, outreach, and scholarship in the history of science, technology, and medicine. The Center is unique both online and in person, allowing scholars from around the country -- even around the globe -- to participate in the rich scholarly resources of Philadelphia and the enormous intellectual talent that it concentrates and brings into focus. Nothing, however, has prepared me for the astonishing and rapid success of this organization as a facilitator of research, teaching, outreach, and scholarship in the history of science, technology, and medicine. ... read more
Kurt MacMillan
Women's and Gender Studies Program, Northern Arizona University
Former Dissertation Writing Fellow
December 2013
The Dissertation Writing Fellowship that I received from the Center in 2011-2012 was critical to the completion of my dissertation and my professional development as a historian of science by generously providing me with a wealth of resources, colleagues, and intellectual space to write. The collegiality, efficiency, and depth of knowledge of the Center's community created a rich learning environment for junior scholars, particularly those like myself who are working in emerging fields.The collegiality, efficiency, and depth of knowledge of the Center's community created a rich learning environment for junior scholars ... read more
Loren Graham
Professor of the History of Science, Emeritus
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University
November, 2012
This Center, in my opinion, is currently the most vigorous focus for the history of science in the United States. ... read more We are fortunate in having many excellent university programs across the country in history of science but most of them understandably concentrate on their own institutions. The Philadelphia center is distinguished by its outreach, which now extends along the entire Eastern seaboard and may shortly become a truly national center. It has found a unique function as a coordinating leader and, if the Center can continue to gain financial support, its future is very bright indeed.
M. Susan Lindee
Professor of the History and Sociology of Science
Associate Dean for the Social Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences
University of Pennsylvania
November 2012
The Center has fulfilled our highest hopes for what it could accomplish for history of science, technology and medicine not only in Philadelphia but in the world. ... read more It has become an intellectual resource for visitors who come to work in archives and connect with the region's thriving scholarly community. It has taken the lead in organizing international meetings and developing public events. It is a treasured resource for scholars everywhere and I support it with great enthusiasm.
Joanna Radin
Assistant Professor in the History of Medicine and of History
Yale University
Former Dissertation Writing Fellow
November 2012
The Center provides unique resources for stimulating the growth of history of science as an exciting field of inquiry and of action. ... read moreWhen I became involved with the Center, I understood myself to be a member of a broad and very vibrant scholarly community. The fellowship provided me with invaluable experiences during a formative period. The opportunity to focus on my writing while engaging with many different individuals and institutions allowed me to take my work in new directions. The Center provides unique resources for stimulating the growth of history of science as an exciting field of inquiry and of action.
B. Robert DeMento
President, Board of Trustees
Library Company of Philadelphia
November 2011
the Center has made significant progress in establishing itself as an important intellectual and rich cultural resource in our region. ... read moreFrom the earliest days of the Republic until today, Philadelphia continues to maintain its importance as a center of medicine, science, and technology. Franklin, the Bartrams, Rittenhouse, Leidy, Cope, Agnew, the builders of the ENIAC computer and Blumberg are among the city’s luminaries who contributed to such a reputation. Utilizing the combined resources of its twelve member institutions, the Center consortium continues to preserve this legacy of learning through its sponsorship of fellowships, conferences, and exhibitions, targeting both professionals and an interested general public. In the few years since its inception, the Center has made significant progress in establishing itself as an important intellectual and rich cultural resource in our region.
Lynn K. Nyhart
Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison
President, History of Science Society
November 2011
In its short history, the Center has become far more than a clearing-house and coordinator of information about Philadelphia-area history of science: it is rapidly becoming an autonomous hub for the regional, and even national, scholarly community in history of science, medicine, and technology. Its combination of information-tracking, public and scholarly events, working groups, and fellowships offers other localities across the nation a model of how to unite diverse institutions and disciplinary communities into one larger intellectual community to advance the history of science. it is rapidly becoming an autonomous hub for the regional, and even national, scholarly community in history of science, medicine, and technology ... read more
Ruth Schwartz Cowan
Chair, Department of the History and Sociology of Science
Janice and Julian Bers Professor, University of Pennsylvania
November 2011
After 45 years of an academic career, I am about to retire from my university commitments. I am not retiring from scholarship, however, and because of the lively scholarly community that the Center has created here, I am seriously considering retiring in Philadelphia (despite the fact that my children and grandchildren live elsewhere). Where else could I be within walking distance of so many archival repositories, such an excellent research university, and so many scholars, young and old, pushing the boundaries of knowledge in so many aspects of the history of technology, natural science, social science and medicine, and having so much fun doing it in each other's company? because of the lively scholarly community that the Center has created here, I am seriously considering retiring in Philadelphia ... read more
Carin Berkowitz
Associate Director, Beckman Center for the History of Chemistry
Chemical Heritage Foundation
Former Dissertation Writing Fellow
November 2011
The impact of the fellowship on my career was as much, if not more, in the community that it provided for me as it was in the funding. ... read moreThe writing groups, the colloquia, the Center's staff, Philadelphia area scholars, and Center-sponsored and coordinated events helped me find new enthusiasm for my own work. Suddenly, writing a dissertation seemed much more interesting and less solitary.