Beckman Center
The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center for the History of Chemistry comprises a dynamic community of scholars interested in the history and social studies of chemistry, broadly construed. It is the home of academic programming at CHF, including a weekly talk series (Brown Bag Lectures), a book series, Synthesis, in the history of chemistry put out by University of Chicago Press, an annual conference organized by a leading scholar in the history of science community (the Cain Conference), and occasional conferences and workshops by leading historians of chemistry who are interested in working with CHF’s staff and whose work appeals to the broader scholarly community at CHF.
The Beckman Center is also home to CHF’s fellows, of whom there are roughly 18 annually, making The Beckman Center the largest private fellowship program in the history of science in the United States. The Beckman Center will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2012, and is proud to count among its alumni a long list of distinguished researchers (a list that can be found at: Current and Former Fellows). We also offer Travel grants to support one or two weeks of research using CHF’s collections.
- 2012 -2013 fellowship applications are now available.
- Lynn Nyhart and Scott Lidgard have been selected as 2011-2012 Cain Conference Fellows. Their conference, “E pluribus unum: Bringing biological parts and wholes into historical and philosophical perspective,” will take part at Chemical Heritage Foundation in May of 2012, with a public keynote lecture by Scott Gilbert on May 3rd titled “We were never individual: How symbionts and hives pervade our lives."
- Evan Ragland, Sidney M. Edelstein Fellow at CHF from 2009-2011, won the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry’s Partington Prize for 2011.
- Sally Smith Hughes’ book Genentech: the Beginnings of Biotech is the latest volume out in the CHF-sponsored series Synthesis with University of Chicago Press.
- Chemical Heritage Foundation/Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry Rumford Scholarship in the History of Alchemy or Chemistry. CHF and the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry (SHAC) are pleased to announce the creation of the Rumford Scholarship in the History of Alchemy or Chemistry. This new annual award will enable the Rumford Scholar to travel to Europe in order to undertake original research in the history of chemistry or alchemy in libraries, archives, or museum collections using those institutions' particular resources. The award may be used in any European country. The value of the award is £2300.
Applications will be posted in early spring 2012.
Beckman Center Scholars are an international group, coming to CHF from countries including China, Spain, Greece, France, and the UK; their scholarship is equally diverse and yet they form a strong community. Pictured here is the 2010-2011 class of fellows on an excursion to the Hagley Library in Delaware.
The Beckman Center offers several fellowships for scholars doing research in the history and sociology of chemistry and related sciences, technologies, and industries. In the 2010–11 academic year the center awarded four postdoctoral fellowships, three dissertation fellowships, and ten short-term fellowships, making CHF one of the leading centers for independent research in the history of science and technology in the United States.
CHF fellows are encouraged to interact with the robust history of science community in Philadelphia. Fellows also participate in an informal writing group, which provides a critical but collegial setting in which to develop works in progress. Travel grants for short visits (less than one month) are also available to support focused research in the Othmer Library.
Each year the Beckman Center hosts the Cain Conference put together by an eminent scholar who works with CHF staff to develop a theme that is broad, contemporary relevance. The 2011 conference, pictured here, was organized by Jim Fleming and was titled "Chemical Weather and Chemical Climate: Body, Place, Planet in Historical Perspective."
The Beckman Center hosts a series of Brown Bag Lectures on Tuesdays during the spring and fall terms. At these lectures CHF fellows, travel grantees, staff, and other area scholars talk on topics involving the history of chemistry, political and social issues of importance to chemists and chemical engineers, and issues affecting the future of chemical research. The center also hosts occasional academic conferences and symposia.
The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center for the History of Chemistry was started with a generous grant from the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation in 1987.
2012 marks the 25th anniversary of The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center for the History of Chemistry at CHF.
CHF offers two kinds of long-term fellowships: one for postdoctoral scholars and one for Ph.D. candidates at the dissertation stage.
Short-term fellows are in residence at CHF for periods ranging from one to four months, according to their allocated fellowship.
CHF welcomes 16 fellows for the 2011–12 academic year. Together with nearly a dozen scholars on staff, CHF hosts a sizable community of people working in some aspect of the history and sociology of chemistry and related sciences.
Financial support is available for researchers who wish to use our collections for periods of one to two weeks.
The deadline to apply for a 2012–2013 Beckman Center fellowship is February 15.
From submitting your application to finding housing in Philadelphia, here are answers to the most common questions asked by prospective and new fellows at CHF.