Historical Perspectives On Contemporary Issues
Injustice in Science: The Meitner Scandal and Robert Millikan's Troubling Legacy
Please watch a number of our panelists live on Sunday, February 20, 2022 at 12:00pm and on-demand as they discuss injustice in science at the 2022 AAAS Annual Meeting. The link to the AAAS Program can be found here.
What would it take to "render justice" in science? In this roundtable discussion, our panelists discuss two episodes that demonstrate how scientific credit and recognition reflect the social and political order of the times. Ruth Lewin Sime and Robert Marc Friedman discuss the "Meitner Scandal," in which the world-renowned physicist Lise Meitner was denied a Nobel Prize for her work, despite being nominated over 50 times and having been considered by many—both in her time and now—as an exemplary candidate. Michael Chwe and Peter Sachs Collopy discuss the recent reckoning with the racist and pro-eugenic beliefs of Robert A. Millikan, former faculty member at Caltech and winner of the 1923 Nobel Prize in Physics. They discuss activism in having Millikan's name taken off of buildings at Caltech, as well as current attempts to make Caltech more inclusive and diverse.
Our moderator for this panel is Susan Lindee, Professor of History and Sociology of Science at the University of Pennsylvania, and our commentator is Sue V. Rosser, Provost Emerita and Professor Emerita at San Francisco State University.
Featuring
Michael Chwe
UCLA
Peter Sachs Collopy
California Institute of Technology
Peter Sachs Collopy is University Archivist and Head of Archives and Special Collections at Caltech.
Robert Marc Friedman
University of Oslo
Robert Marc Friedman is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History at the University of Oslo. He is the author of The Politics of Excellence: Behind the Nobel Prize in Science.
Susan Lindee
University of Pennsylvania
Susan Lindee is Janice and Julian Bers Professor and Department Chair of History and Sociology of Science at the University of Pennsylvania. Her books include Suffering Made Real, The DNA Mystique, Moments of Truth in Genetic Medicine, and Rational Fog: Science and Technology in Modern War.
Sue V. Rosser
San Francisco State University
Sue V. Rosser is Provost Emerita and Professor Emerita at San Francisco State University. She is the author of 14 books and 140 journal articles, many of which address issues of gender in science, technology, and medicine.
Ruth Lewin Sime
Sacramento City College
Ruth Lewin Sime is Professor Emerita in the Department of Chemistry at Sacramento City College. She is the author of Lise Meitner: A Life in Physics.
Michael Chwe is Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science at UCLA. He is the author of Jane Austen, Game Theorist and Rational Ritual: Culture, Coordination, and Common Knowledge.