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I am a historian of science interested in the interrelations between modern science and its social and political contexts. How do science and technology shape the world we live in and how do they influence the ways we think about nature and ourselves? On the other hand, how do social, cultural and political contexts shape the development of science, ranging from decisions on research funding to public expectations about science? These questions provide the framework in which my research on the history of the modern physical and atmospheric sciences is situated. Read more about my research ...
Current Academic Position and Affiliations – British Academy / Royal Society Newton International Fellow, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, UK. – Affiliated Scholar, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, Cambridge University, UK. – Visiting Scholar, Environmental Studies Program, New York University, USA. Research Summary
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My current research project is a study of the science, modeling and politics of transboundary air pollution in the 20th century. I investigate how transboundary air pollution emerged as a topic for scientific research and I explore how different political contexts in North America and Europe influenced the development of air pollution research and modeling. Read more...
Another focus of my research is the controversy about Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity in the 1920s. I investigated the epistemologies behind the opposition to the theory of relativity and the scientific objections that were raised against this theory. I was able to show that the opposition to the theory of relativity became a heterogeneous social movement, motivated primarily by ontological commitments that took the debate beyond the margins of physics. Read more...
Another focus of my research is the controversy about Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity in the 1920s. I investigated the epistemologies behind the opposition to the theory of relativity and the scientific objections that were raised against this theory. I was able to show that the opposition to the theory of relativity became a heterogeneous social movement, motivated primarily by ontological commitments that took the debate beyond the margins of physics. Read more...
Teaching Interests
I taught classes on 19th and 20th century history of science at Humboldt University Berlin, and classes on environmental policy at NYU. I am particularly interested in teaching classes on the history of the atmospheric sciences, modern physics in context, and scientific controversies. Read more ...
Exhibitions
Albert Einstein – Chief Engineer of the Universe.
Max Planck – Revolutionär wider Willen.
More on exhibitions ...
Books
Einstein's Opponents: The Public Controversy About the Theory of Relativity in the 1920s. Cambridge University Press, 2014.
Einstein's Gegner: Die öffentliche Kontroverse um die Relativitätstheorie in den 1920er Jahren. Campus, 2009.
More on Einstein's opponents ...
Einstein's Gegner: Die öffentliche Kontroverse um die Relativitätstheorie in den 1920er Jahren. Campus, 2009.
More on Einstein's opponents ...
Selected articles and book chapters
Marginalization Processes in Science: The Controversy about the Theory of Relativity in the 1920s
Social Studies of Science (2013), 43(2): 163–190.
The 1922 Einstein Film: Cinematic Innovation and Public Controversy
Physics in Perspective (2010), 12(2): 163–179.
The Relativity Deniers
The New Scientist, Volume 208, Issue 2786, 13 November 2010: 48–51.
Wer waren Einsteins Gegner?
Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte, No. 25-26: 17–23.
Einstein in the Daily Press. A Glimpse Into the Gehrcke Papers
The Universe of General Relativity, edited by Jean Eisenstaedt and Anne Kox, Birkhäuser 2005: 339–356.
‘Einstein on the Murder List!’ – The Attacks on Einstein and the Theory of Relativity in 1922
Chief Engineer of the Universe – One Hundred Authors for Einstein, edited by Juergen Renn, Wiley-VCH 2005: 222–225.
Go to publications ...
Social Studies of Science (2013), 43(2): 163–190.
The 1922 Einstein Film: Cinematic Innovation and Public Controversy
Physics in Perspective (2010), 12(2): 163–179.
The Relativity Deniers
The New Scientist, Volume 208, Issue 2786, 13 November 2010: 48–51.
Wer waren Einsteins Gegner?
Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte, No. 25-26: 17–23.
Einstein in the Daily Press. A Glimpse Into the Gehrcke Papers
The Universe of General Relativity, edited by Jean Eisenstaedt and Anne Kox, Birkhäuser 2005: 339–356.
‘Einstein on the Murder List!’ – The Attacks on Einstein and the Theory of Relativity in 1922
Chief Engineer of the Universe – One Hundred Authors for Einstein, edited by Juergen Renn, Wiley-VCH 2005: 222–225.
Go to publications ...