Behind the Beaker
Science History Institute
- Fellowships
- Othmer Library
- Research Centers
- Research Activities
- Oral Histories of Immigration and Innovation
- Publications by Scholars
- Synthesis
- REACH Ambler
- Imagining Philadelphia’s Energy Futures
- Science and Disability
- Fellow Friday
- Arnold O. Beckman Legacy Project
- Behind the Beaker
- Sensing Change
- TSCA: From Inception to Reform
- Studies in Materials Innovation
- Studies in Sustainability
- Staff
Research fellows at the Science History Institute study the history of environmental politics, alchemical experiments, and the science of the senses. In the Behind the Beaker video series, we interview research fellows about their projects, what inspires them as historians, and some of their favorite archival finds.
Alchemy! Experiments! War!
Alchemy! Experiments! War! A Talk with Joel Klein
“I don't like the modern assumption that everyone in the past was stupid.” Historian of early modern science and medicine Joel Klein talks about the role historians of science should play in shaping modern perceptions, and discusses his research on influential seventeenth-century scientist Daniel Sennert.
Weird Electronics
Weird Electronics: A talk with Ben Gross
The Radio Corporation of America (RCA) creates vinyl records that play video, and a subversive scientist covertly ruins an RCA technical report. Hear about the odd discoveries historian Ben Gross has made through his research on the development of liquid crystal displays (LCDs) at RCA.
Poison and Pigments
Poisons and Pigments: A Talk with Elisabeth Berry Drago
Think art and science have nothing in common? Elisabeth Berry Drago explores the connections between chemistry, art, and history in this discussion of artist workshops and alchemical laboratories.
What's in a Name?
What's in a Name? A Talk with Evan Hepler-Smith
Have you ever looked at the ingredients list on a bottle of household cleaner and wondered what all those long chemical names mean? Evan Hepler-Smith shares the surprising story of how many synthetic chemicals got their names. Why do names matter? What do literature and science have in common? And what happened when a bunch of chemists got together and decided to turn chemistry into a song?