My research interests in the history of science have been quite varied over the years; they include the history of chemistry and allied sciences in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (Crystals and Compounds, 1976), the history of chemical technology, focusing on munitions and explosives and the history of parapsychology and marginal science (The Elusive Science: Origins of Experimental Psychical Research, with Michael R. McVaugh, 1980). I have edited two books reflective of these different interests: The Reception of Unconventional Science (1979) and Chemical Sciences in the Modern World (1993). In 2006, I received the Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award.
Office Location: | 226 Classroom Bldg, Durham, NC 27708 |
Office Phone: | +1 919 684 3014 |
Email Address: |
Ph.D. | Princeton University | 1966 |
M.A. | Princeton University | 1963 |
AB | Cornell University | 1960 |
B.A. | Cornell University | 1960 |
Current projects: I am an "enthusiastic" pianist in both classical and show-tune/jazz repertoire.
My research interests in the history of science have been quite varied over the years; they include the history of chemistry and allied sciences in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (Crystals and Compounds, 1976), the history of chemical technology, focusing on munitions and explosives and the history of parapsychology and marginal science (The Elusive Science: Origins of Experimental Psychical Research, with Michael R. McVaugh, 1980). I have edited two books reflective of these different interests: The Reception of Unconventional Science (1979) and Chemical Sciences in the Modern World (1993).
I was the first Edelstein International Fellow in the History of Chemical Sciences and Technology (Beckman Center for the History of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, and The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, 1988-1989). In spring, 2000, I was the Price Fellow at the Chemical Heritage Foundation, Philadelphia. In 1998, I received the Dexter Award for Outstanding Contributions to the History of Chemistry from the American Chemical Society. I have held grants from the National Science Foundation and from the Hagley Museum.