2014 Introductory Symposium

Philadelphia has been an epicenter in the development of American science, medicine and technology since the early 1700s. Today our libraries, universities, research centers and museums attract leading scholars from everywhere who come here for study and research. Many of those speaking on September 18 will be newly arrived researchers drawn to Philadelphia’s remarkable historical resources in science, medicine and technology.
These short presentations of new research can be fun, exciting, moving and intriguing, as scholars illuminate the history of scientific fields that shape all of our lives every day. Come for the morning, the day or even just for an hour. We bet you’ll stay to hear more and learn something new! Program

9:30 a.m. Welcome

Babak Ashrafi, Executive Director Philadelphia Area Center for History of Science

9:40 a.m. - Session 1

Emil Fischer and the Origins of Synthetic Biology Jeffrey A. Johnson, Villanova University, Department of History Haas Fellow at Chemical Heritage Foundation

Molecules in Biology before Molecular Biology Daniel Liu, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of History of Science, Medicine, and Technology Charles C. Price Dissertation Fellow at Chemical Heritage Foundation

The Science of Cooperation between World Wars Abe Gibson, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Philadelphia Area Center for History of Science

Reconstructing a Public Face: Post World War Two Biology in Search of Democracy Maurizio Meloni, University of Exeter Annual Member at Institute for Advanced Study, School of Social Sciences, Princeton, NJ

Marjorie Grene, David Hull, and the Origins of the ‘New’ Philosophy of Biology Phillip Honenberger, Adjunct Fellow and Program Coordinator, Philadelphia Area Center for History of Science

Writing the Women's Health Movement: Barbara Seaman, Feminism, and the Politics of Biomedical Expertise Kelly O’Donnell, Yale University, Department of History of Science and Medicine

10:55 a.m. – Session 2

Allegory and Scientific Language in the 17th Century Kirsten Poole, University of Delaware, Department of English

An Original Fake: The Date, Author and Meaning of the So-Called ‘Flammarion Engraving’ Stefano Gattei, IMT Institute for Advanced Studies, Lucca, Italy Sidney Edelstein Fellow at Chemical Heritage Foundation

Therapeutic Culture: Health and Medicine in Late Nineteenth-Century American Art Elizabeth Lee, Dickinson College, Art History and Women's & Gender Studies

The Medical Body in 19th-c. American Material & Visual Culture Naomi H. Slipp, Boston University, Department of History of Art & Architecture 2014-15 Barra Foundation Fellow in American Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art

11:50 a.m. – Session 3

Engineer-Servants in Antebellum Virginia Jonson Miller, Drexel University, Department of History and Politics Research Fellow at Philadelphia Area Center for History of Science

“It is my wish to behold Ladies among my hearers": Early American Women and Scientific Practice, 1720-1860 Jessica Linker, University of Connecticut, Department of History Albert M. Greenfield Foundation Dissertation Fellow at the Library Company of Philadelphia

On Location: Finding the Traces of Yellow Fever Julia Mansfield, Stanford University, Department of History Fellow-In-Residence at Philadelphia Area Center for History of Science

Science versus the Islamic Tradition: The Rhetoric of Innovation in Eighteenth-Century Istanbul B. Harun Küçük, University of Pennsylvania, Department of the History and Sociology of Science

Missionary Foundational Narratives and the Ambiguous Naming of Amazonia Roberto Chauca Tapia, University of Florida, Department of History Dissertation Writing Fellow at Philadelphia Area Center for History of Science

1:30 p.m. – Session 4

Surgery, Society, and Limbs in Early Modern Germany, 1500-1700 Heidi Hausse, Princeton University, Department of History Dissertation Writing Fellow at Philadelphia Area Center for History of Science

Mind the Little Ones: The Mind-Body Narrative and its effects on Childhood and Children in Early Modern England Elisabeth M. Yang, Rutgers University, Department of Childhood Studies

A Beautiful Mind: Physiognomy and Female Intellect in the Anglo-Atlantic World, 1760-1860 Rachel Walker, University of Maryland, College Park, Department of History Albert M. Greenfield Foundation Dissertation Fellow at the Library Company of Philadelphia William T. Golden Fellow at the American Philosophical Society Wood Institute Travel Grant at The College of Physicians of Philadelphia

One Hundred Years of Health: Aging Well and Health-Related Quality of Life in 20th Century America Cara Kiernan Fallon, Harvard University, History of Science Research Fellow at Philadelphia Area Center for History of Science

To Conquer Confusion: Aging, Alzheimer’s and the Struggle for a Coherent Approach to Researching, Diagnosing and Treating Neurodegenerative Disease in Modern Biomedicine Jesse F. Ballenger, Drexel University, Department of Health Administration

2:35 p.m. – Session 5

The Material Culture of Disability in Early America Nicole Belolan, University of Delaware, History of American Civilization Research Fellow at Philadelphia Area Center for History of Science Winterthur Library Short-term Research Fellowship

Home Alteration in Industrial Philadelphia, 1865 to 1925 Amanda Casper, University of Delaware, Department of History Dissertation Writing Fellow at Philadelphia Area Center for History of Science

Exploring the History of Customs Laboratories Ignacio Suay-Matallana Gordon Cain Fellow at Chemical Heritage Foundation

Flavor Added: Future Foods, Flavor Chemists, and American Appetites in Twentieth Century Nadia Berenstein, University of Pennsylvania, Department of the History & Sociology of Science Haas Fellow at Chemical Heritage Foundation

Got a Superfund Site? Flaunt it! Juan-Andres Leon Curatorial Postdoctoral Fellow at Chemical Heritage Foundation

The Co-Evolution of Air Monitoring and Ethical Claims at Refinery Fencelines Gwen Ottinger, Drexel University, Center for Science, Technology, and Society