The History of Science Society

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News & Inquiries

Results of the 2009 Election

The 2009 Nominating Committee of M. Norton Wise, Thomas Söderqvist, Katherine Anderson, Pamela Smith, and chair David Kaiser produced a marvelous slate for the 2009 elections. The quality of the pool was reflected in some of the razor-thin margins of victory. We offer our thanks to all of those who agreed to run and we congratulate our new officers. We also thank the more than 350 members who voted.

Vice President (2010-2011, President 2012-2013), Lynn K. Nyhart, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Council (2010-2012)
John Carson, University of Michigan
Deborah R. Coen, Barnard College
Mi Gyung Kim, North Carolina State University
Helen Rozwadowski, University of Connecticut, Avery Point
Marga Vicedo, University of Toronto

Nominating Committee (2010 slate)
John Beatty, University of British Columbia
Deborah Harkness, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
Pamela O. Long, Independent Scholar
Paul Lucier, Independent Scholar
Liba Taub, Whipple Museum, Cambridge University

New Treasurer for the Society

Many people around the world feel rather unsettled and unsure about their financial futures. Fortunately, the HSS is in good hands. Rachel Ankeny, who stepped down 1 July, has done an excellent job as Treasurer in overseeing the Society’s budget for two-and-a-half years, and we thank her for her diligence. Rachel stepped down for professional reasons, in order to devote more time to research and teaching. We wish to note that beyond her labor getting the everyday details of the Treasurer’s job done, she has helped to reconfigure and streamline many processes, which will make the role of Treasurer more sustainable in the long run. She also helped to maintain the Society’s strong financial condition, despite current challenges. We offer a warm thanks to Rachel for her tremendous service and wish her well in her many other professional roles.

Our new Treasurer, who will begin by completing Rachel’s term, is Adam Apt. Adam has served on the Finance Committee for 13 years and has considerable experience with investment management. In fact, Adam has recently begun his own business, Peabody River Asset Management (http://www.peabodyriver.com/), where “the essence of intelligent investing is to achieve a balance of return and risk that is appropriate for the investor.” Adam’s attention to what is appropriate is important for our Society at this point in time, and we will benefit from his guidance in financial matters. Adam is a perfect example of the diversity of careers open to those with education in the history of science: many years in financial services, as well as a keen interest in hiking the White Mountains of New Hampshire, round out his own portfolio of special skills. The Treasurer serves on the Executive Committee and oversees financial matters, including preparation of the budget, monitoring of operating accounts, and overseeing investment accounts. Adam has served as treasurer for a number of other organizations and brings considerable talent and enthusiasm to the position.

Furthermore, we are fortunate that another member of the Finance Committee, Spencer Weart, a former HSS Treasurer, has agreed to serve as chair of the Finance Committee. In that capacity he will set up a new investments review to ensure our investments are as safe, as productive, and as appropriate as possible. We are very fortunate to have Spencer’s help at this time, and his own work at the American Institute of Physics has been brilliantly successful and has brought us “History that Matters” (http://www.aip.org/history/historymatters/weart.htm). Like Adam, Spencer has followed a creative career path that can inspire all of us. We are very fortunate to have the help of these two talented historians of science.

Currently, we have projected workable (though somewhat reduced) budgets into the future. Members who would like to donate to support Society operations or any special funds are encouraged to do so at https://www.hssweb.org/donate.

– From the Executive Committee

Oral History Collection

The Chemical Heritage Foundation has created an online oral history collection. Recipients of the Pew Scholars in the Biomedical Sciences Award are interviewed at the end of their four-year program and their oral histories deposited in the collection. The collection contains well over two hundred oral histories and is expanding, with new oral histories being added on a regular basis. See http://www.chemheritage.org/exhibits/ex-nav2-pew.asp. In addition, bound volumes of the oral histories are housed in CHF’s Othmer Library.

ACLS Humanities E-Book Subscriptions

ACLS Humanities E-Book (HEB) now provides individual subscriptions through standing membership in the History of Science Society as an added benefit of your membership.
Individual subscriptions are USD $35.00 for a twelve-month, renewable, subscription. $15 of your subscription will come back directly to the History of Science Society and the balance will help sustain HEB as a resource for the entire scholarly community.
For subscriptions, follow the link below. You will need to choose the History of Science Society from the pull-down menu and provide your membership number.
https://www.humanitiesebook.org/subscription_purchase.html

The subscription offers unlimited access to its collection of cross-searchable, full-text titles across the humanities and related social sciences (https://www.humanitiesebook.org/titlelist.html).

Titles have been selected and peer reviewed by ACLS constituent learned societies for their continued value in teaching and researching, and approximately 500 are being added each year. The collection includes both in- and out-of-print titles ranging from the 1880s to the current year. Titles link to publishers‚ Web sites and to online reviews in JSTOR, Project MUSE, and other sites.

Individual subscriptions are ideal for those whose school might not yet have an institutional subscription to HEB or for individual members of a learned society who might not be affiliated with a subscribing institution. For inquiries e-mail: subscriptions@hebook.org.

Moving Philosophy of Science

The Editorial Office for Philosophy of Science has moved from the University of South Carolina to the University of California, Irvine. The Philosophy of Science Association thanks Michael Dickson, his associate editors, and his staff for their service, and welcomes Editor-in-Chief Jeff Barrett, his associate editors, and his staff.

We expect to be able to provide an initial decision on most submissions within six to eight weeks. Submissions to the journal should be made through the Editorial Manager software at http://phos.edmgr.com. Detailed information about the journal and the submission procedure can be found at http://journal.philsci.org.

In order to review submissions quickly and hence to encourage the submission of the very best work, referees are welcome to make whatever comments they wish, but extensive referee commentary will not be required.

The July 2009 issue of Philosophy of Science will be edited and produced through Michael Dickson’s office at the University of South Carolina. We expect that other submissions made to the South Carolina office before April 2009 will be transferred to UC Irvine. Please contact us at philsci@uci.edu concerning the status of your submission, and we will pass along whatever information we have.

International Workshop on Lysenkoism

Co-sponsored by the Harriman Institute for Russian Eurasian and Eastern European Studies at Columbia University, and the City University of New York, the workshop will take place 4-5 December 2009. Trofim D. Lysenko was a Ukrainian agronomist responsible for banning genetics in the Soviet Union and its allies, following a week-long session of the Lenin All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences in 1948. The workshop will bring together scholars from over a dozen countries to present their work on the impact and response to Lysenko’s anti-genetics campaign in over a dozen countries in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. The sessions on 4 December will be held at the CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Ave., Room 9204/9205. The sessions on 5 December will be held in the International Affairs Building, at Columbia University, Room 1501. The conference will be free and open to the public. For further information please contact William deJong-Lambert at WRL4@columbia.edu/william.dejong-lambert@bcc.cuny.edu.

Joint Atlantic Seminar in the History of Biology

The Department of the History of Science at Harvard University is pleased to host the 2010 meeting of the JAS. The meeting will be held on 26-27 March in the Science Center, Harvard University. Further information from Janet Browne: jbrowne@fas.harvard.edu.

Metropolitan New York Section of the History of Science Society Reestablished

The Section for History and Philosophy of Science and Technology at the New York Academy of Sciences concluded its 2008-2009 season of monthly programs on the evening of 21 May with a lecture by Kim Plofker (Department of Mathematics, Union College), who spoke on “Mathematics and Astronomy in India: An evening in honor of David Pingree.” A special symposium followed on 22 May, devoted to “Astrolabes: An Evening in Honor of Marjorie and Roderick Webster, and David Pingree,” and held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The symposium featured Clare Vincent (Associate Curator, Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts), Bruce Chandler (The College of Staten Island, City University of New York), and Bruce Stephenson (Curator, History of Astronomy Department, The Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum, Chicago).

Following discussion over the past several months and circulation of a revised Constitution and By-Laws, a vote was taken during the meeting at the Academy on May 21 to reestablish the Metropolitan New York Section of the History of Science Society (MNYSHSS), originally founded on September 1, 1953. Elected to serve as President: Matthew Stanley (The Gallatin School, New York University), Vice President: Sheila Rabin (St. Peter’s College, New Jersey); Secretary: Luis Campos (Drew University); and Treasurer: Deirdre La Porte (AT&T, retired).

For information about the 2009-2010 schedule of lectures, to be jointly sponsored by The New York Academy of Sciences, the MNYSHSS, the City University of New York, Columbia University and The Gallatin School, New York University, see here. Or contact Joseph W. Dauben at jdauben@gc.cuny.edu, Pamela Smith at ps2270@columbia.edu, or Matthew Stanley at ms5100@nyu.edu.

New Journal

Philosophy & Theory in Biology (P&TB), a new peer-reviewed open-access online journal, will be launched in the fall of 2009. We aim to bring together philosophers of science and theoretically inclined biologists. Instructions for authors can be downloaded at http://www.philosophyandtheoryinbiology.org. Further information can be obtained by e-mailing editors@philosophyandtheoryinbiology.org.

ASP Archives

Lloyd Library and Museum and American Society of Pharmacognosy (ASP) announce the agreement for the transfer of ASP Archives to the Lloyd Library and Museum, Historical Research Center for the Natural Health Movement. For more information visit ASP at http://www.phcog.org/ and the Lloyd Library at http://www.lloydlibrary.org.

Thirtieth Anniversary for BSHS Monographs

The British Society for the History of Science is celebrating by creating a digital collection of past monographs. These monographs are available for viewing and download free-of-charge at http://www.bshs.org.uk/monographs.

Call for Articles: Thematic Issue for Antropologia Portuguesa

Antropologia Portuguesa is receiving articles for its next thematic issue, coming out in 2010, which is dedicated to the theme, “151 years of Darwinism.” Deadline is 31 December 2009. Go to http://www.uc.pt/en/cia/publica/call_for_papers for more information.

Generation to Reproduction Research Project

The University of Cambridge has secured major funding in the history of medicine from the Wellcome Trust. A strategic award of £785,000 for five years from 1 October 2009 will allow a cross-disciplinary group of researchers to take a concerted approach to the history of reproduction. Entitled, “Generation to Reproduction,” the project will provide fresh perspectives on issues ranging from ancient fertility rites to IVF. A strongly grounded account, building on a lively field of historical investigation, will offer a fresh basis for policy and public debate. For more information visit http://www.hps.cam.ac.uk/generation/.

Special Issue: Darwin and the Evolution of Victorian Studies Available

Victorian Studies 51:2 (Winter 2009) is a special issue devoted to several essays on the theme of “Darwin and the Evolution of Victorian Studies.” Those essays include: George Levine, “Reflections on Darwin and Darwinizing;” Heather Brink-Roby, “Natural Representation: Diagram and Text in Darwin’s ‘On the Origin of Species’;” Tina Young Choi, “Natural History’s Hypothetical Moments: Narratives of Contingency in Victorian Culture;” Jim Endersby, “Sympathetic Science: Charles Darwin, Joseph Hooker, and the Passions of Victorian Naturalists;” and Gillian Beer, “Darwin and the Uses of Extinction.” Jonathan Smith authored the introductory essay.

Images from the History of Medicine

The History of Medicine Division of the National Library of Medicine announces the launch of a new image platform for its premier database, Images from the History of Medicine (IHM). IHM is available online, free of charge, at http://ihm.nlm.nih.gov.

International Journal of Gender, Science and Technology

The International Journal of Gender, Science and Technology is an independent, peer reviewed, open access journal that welcomes contributions from practitioners, researchers and policy makers concerned with gender issues in and of science and technology. For further information, including details of the submission procedures go to http://genderandset.open.ac.uk. For enquiries contact Jenni Carr at j.g.carr@open.ac.uk.

Forum for the History of the Mathematical Sciences Luncheon

The luncheon will be held 12:00-1:15 p.m. on Friday at the 2009 HSS Annual Meeting in Phoenix, AZ. All those who share an interest in the history of mathematics are invited to this complimentary event, sponsored by the Legacy of R.L. Moore Project. Seating is limited, and reservations are required. Contact Karen Parshall at khp3k@virginia.edu if you would like to attend.

Updated APS Fellowship Information

The American Philosophical Society has revised the Fellowships and Research Grants section of their Web site for 2009-2010. Please check the “About the Fellowships and Research Grants” section periodically at http://www.amphilsoc.org/grants/ for more information.

Travel/Research Grants for History of East Asian Science

The D. Kim Foundation for the History of Science and Technology in East Asia offers two Traveling/Research Grants. Established in 2008 the D. Kim Foundation is dedicated to furthering the study of the history of science and technology in East Asia since the start of the 20th Century. For more information visit http://www.dkimfoundation.org/.

Annals of Science Offer

Submit your unpublished paper to Annals of Science for a chance to win US$500 and a year’s free subscription. This prize is offered every two years to the author of an original, unpublished essay in the history of science or technology, which is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/authors/tascauth.asp

Doctoral Fellowships

A four-university consortium based out of Florida State University will support one graduate student to participate in a 30-month research project on the ways in which historic and contemporary conceptualizations of the Arctic are impacting state and non-state actors’ proposals for exercising sovereignty in the region. Please contact Phil Steinberg at psteinbe@fsu.edu or +1 850 644 8378.

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