Mary Jo Nye
Encyclopedia
Mary Jo Nye is an American historian of science
and retired faculty member of the History Department at Oregon State University
.
(B.S. Chemistry
), taking her Ph.D. in History of Science
at the University of Wisconsin in 1970. From 1970 she taught at the University of Oklahoma
, where she was named George Lynn Cross Research Professor in the History of Science in 1991. She was appointed a Thomas Hart and Mary Jones Horning Professor of the Humanities and Professor of History at Oregon State University
in 1994. Other affiliations include visiting research appointments at the University of Pittsburgh
, Rutgers University
, the Institute for Advanced Study
in Princeton, Churchill College at the University of Cambridge
, the Max Planck Institut fur Wissenschaftsgeschichte in Berlin, and as a visiting professor at Harvard University
. She retired from Oregon State University in 2009.
Professor Nye received the History of Science Society's George Sarton Medal
for Lifetime Scholarly Achievement awarded in 2006. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
, and a Corresponding Member of the Académie Internationale d'Histoire des Sciences. In 1999 she received the Dexter Award
for outstanding achievement in the history of chemistry of the American Chemical Society
.
Current Research: studies of the Hungarian-born physical chemist Michael Polanyi and the British physicist and Nobel
laureate P.M.S. Blackett
History of science
The history of science is the study of the historical development of human understandings of the natural world and the domains of the social sciences....
and retired faculty member of the History Department at Oregon State University
Oregon State University
Oregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are more than 200 academic degree programs offered through the...
.
Career
Nye completed her undergraduate studies at Vanderbilt UniversityVanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
(B.S. Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
), taking her Ph.D. in History of Science
History of science
The history of science is the study of the historical development of human understandings of the natural world and the domains of the social sciences....
at the University of Wisconsin in 1970. From 1970 she taught at the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
, where she was named George Lynn Cross Research Professor in the History of Science in 1991. She was appointed a Thomas Hart and Mary Jones Horning Professor of the Humanities and Professor of History at Oregon State University
Oregon State University
Oregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are more than 200 academic degree programs offered through the...
in 1994. Other affiliations include visiting research appointments at the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
, Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
, the Institute for Advanced Study
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study, located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, is an independent postgraduate center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It was founded in 1930 by Abraham Flexner...
in Princeton, Churchill College at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, the Max Planck Institut fur Wissenschaftsgeschichte in Berlin, and as a visiting professor at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. She retired from Oregon State University in 2009.
Professor Nye received the History of Science Society's George Sarton Medal
George Sarton Medal
The George Sarton Medal is the most prestigious award given by the History of Science Society. It has been awarded annually since 1955. It is awarded to an historian of science from the international community who became distinguished for "a lifetime of scholarly achievement" in the field...
for Lifetime Scholarly Achievement awarded in 2006. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
, and a Corresponding Member of the Académie Internationale d'Histoire des Sciences. In 1999 she received the Dexter Award
Dexter Award
The Dexter Award was an honor given out by the American Chemical Society from 1956 until 2001. It was sponsored by the Dexter Chemical Corporation except for the final two years, when it was sponsored by the Mildred and Sidney Edelstein Foundation....
for outstanding achievement in the history of chemistry of the American Chemical Society
American Chemical Society
The American Chemical Society is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 161,000 members at all degree-levels and in all fields of chemistry, chemical...
.
As author
- Molecular reality ; A perspective on the scientific work of Jean Perrin, London [usw.]: MacDonald [usw.], 1972
- Science in the Provinces: Scientific Communities and Provincial Leadership in France, 1860-1930, University of California Press, 1986, ISBN 0520055616
- From chemical philosophy to theoretical chemistry : dynamics of matter and dynamics of disciplines, 1800 - 1950, Berkeley [u.a.] : Univ. of California Press, 1993
- Before Big Science: The Pursuit of Modern Chemistry and Physics, 1800-1940, Harvard University Press, Reprint 1999, ISBN 0674063821
- Was Linus Pauling a Revolutionary Chemist? (Award Address - Dexter Award) in: Bull. Hist. Chem. 25 ( 2000), 73-82.
- Blackett. Physics, War, and Politics in the Twentieth Century, Harvard University Press, 2004 - ISBN 0674015487 - about the English physicist Patrick Maynard Stuart Blackett
As editor
- The invention of physical science : intersections of mathematics, theology and natural philosophy since the seventeenth century ; essays in honor of Erwin N. Hiebert, Dordrecht [u.a.] : Kluwer, 1992
- The Cambridge History of Science, Vol. 5: The Modern Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Cambridge University Press, 2002, ISBN 0521571995
Research interests
- The history of chemistry and physics since the eighteenth century in Western Europe, Great Britain and the United States
- The social and cultural history of science, including laboratory science, university education, and the political activities of scientists
- The philosophy of science, especially relations between theory and evidence
Current Research: studies of the Hungarian-born physical chemist Michael Polanyi and the British physicist and Nobel
laureate P.M.S. Blackett