The Department of the History of Science and Technology concentrates on science and technology since the Renaissance and has particular strength in the history of early-modern science and the history of American science and technology. Faculty interests extend to such subjects as history of architecture, the emergence of science cities, the iconography of science, science and exploration, environmentalism, science and religion, and East Asian science and technology.

Research interests of the faculty are described on their individual web pages, which you can find by browsing our directory.

The department encourages applications in the following broad areas:

  • Early modern alchemy/chemistry, cosmology, natural history, in Europe and North and South America
  • Technology in 19th and 20th centuries, including history of engineering and related disciplines
  • Modern physical sciences, 19th-20th centuries
  • Biological sciences, especially history of evolution, genetics, ecology, behavioral biology, physiology
  • Environmentalism as it relates to ecological sciences
  • Science in Latin America
  • East Asian science and technology, especially in Japan in the early-modern and modern period
  • Museums and modern society; the department works with curators and research historians at the Smithsonian Institution to sponsor workshops, student internships, courses, and other activities, and cooperates in the undergraduate Program in Museums and Society.

The department runs its teaching programs and colloquium in cooperation with the Department of History of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins Medical School.