October 2007 Newsletter, Vol. 36, No.4
2007 Guggenheim Winners
Out of the 189 artists, scholars and scientists chosen to receive the 2007 Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowships, eight are working on projects with connections to the history of science. This issue we profile the projects of four of the eight; the remaining four will be profiled in the next issue of the Newsletter.
Peter Pesic's project examines the historical links between music and science -- ancient and modern. The serene beauty of the "music of the spheres," he writes, gave way to a more powerful experience at the same time as the new philosophy of the early moderns sought power over nature.
A. Mark Smith's work on a critical edition of Alhacen's De aspectibus is now nearing completion. The aim, says Smith, is to restore this work on vision to the form in which it was read during the Middle Ages and Renaissance.
The meeting between Copernicus and Rheticus in 1539 provides Dava Sobel with the plot for her play, "And the Sun Stood Still."
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That must have been some conversation," writes Sobel about the encounter that likely convinced Copernicus to publish his sun-centered theory.
First Person
Anthony Millevolte: Spreading the Words
History of science is a rare creature in much of the liberal arts curriculum in the United States. Chemistry professor Anthony Millevolte says it is up to the history of science community to transform the intellectual and cultural features of science into a vital part of the liberal arts mission.
Laura Otis: What's an Archive? A Literary Scholar's View of the History of Science
Laura Otis, who comes from a background in Biochemistry, Neuroscience, and Comparative Literature, questions the history of science rules.
The Climate Engineers: Playing God to Save the Planet
As alarm over global warming spreads, a radical idea is gaining momentum. Forget cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions, some scientists argue, instead find a quick technological fix.
By James R. Fleming
The Cartoon Medicine Show
David Cantor provides a sneak peek into some of the rare animated cartoons from the National Library of Medicine that will be shown at the 2007 HSS Annual Meeting.
PhotoEssay
Matthew Eddy's photo essay on Thomas Wright, an 18th-century English philosopher, examines his less popular -- at least to upper-class audiences -- study of the earth's formation and transformation.
Linnaeus Lives! In Philadelphia
Karen Reeds recounts how curating "Come into a New World: Linnaeus & America" brought Linnaeus to a modern audience.
The Linnaeus Digitization Project
Eva Nyström, research editor for the Linnaean correspondence, gives a status report on the project.
Program Profile: The University of Oklahoma
Looking for a history of science program? We begin our series on graduate programs with the University of Oklahoma