News and Press

Atlas Obscura: How Scholars Cracked a Medieval Alchemist’s Secret Code Online magazine features Institute fellows Megan Piorko and Sarah Lang, who helped decode a puzzling Latin cipher.

The Conversation: Deciphering the Philosophers’ Stone Institute fellows Megan Piorko and Sarah Lang help crack a 400-year-old alchemical cipher.

Institute Awarded Turning Points in History Grant from Villanova’s Lepage Center Funds will support the museum’s ‘Knowing Water: A Digital Exploration of History, Science, and Environmental Justice along the Delaware River’ project.

Science History Institute Mounts New Outdoor Exhibition An extension of the Institute’s ‘Downstream’ exhibition, ‘Water Pics’ showcases a series of anti-pollution posters created in the 1950s by the Pennsylvania Sanitary Water Board.

Science History Institute Mourns Loss of Biotech Giant Frederick Frank The longtime member of the Institute’s Board of Overseers passed away September 11, 2021, at the age of 89.

WHYY: Exhibition Traces a 200-Year History of Water Pollution in Philadelphia Local public media outlet features Institute’s new ‘Downstream’ exhibition.

C&EN: Rare Earths’ Magic Comes at a Cost American Chemical Society publication features ‘Distillations’ podcast on rare earth elements as part of its ‘Stereo Chemistry’ series.

10K Records Published to Institute’s Digital Collections Postcard dated January 6, 1913, from chemist Walther Nernst to Jewish German scientist Georg Bredig is 10,000th record.

New Biography by Institute’s Library Director Unveils Life and Legacy of Unknown Woman Scientist Michelle DiMeo’s ‘Lady Ranelagh: The Incomparable Life of Robert Boyle’s Sister’ tells the compelling story of a forgotten 17th-century thinker.