Hasok Chang (; born March 26, 1967) is a

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

-born American historian and philosopher of science currently serving as the

Hans Rausing Hans Anders Rausing, KBE (25 March 1926 – 30 August 2019) was a Swedish industrialist and philanthropist based in the United Kingdom. He made his fortune from his co-inheritance of Tetra Pak, a company founded by his father Ruben Rausing, and ...

Professor at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

and a board member of the

Philosophy of Science Association The Philosophy of Science Association (PSA) is an international academic organization founded in 1933 that promotes research, teaching, and free discussion of issues in the philosophy of science from diverse standpoints. The PSA engages in activit ...

. He previously served as president of the

British Society for the History of Science The British Society for the History of Science (BSHS) was founded in 1947 by Francis Butler, Joan Eyles and Victor Eyles. Overview It is Britain's largest learned society devoted to the history of science, technology, and medicine. The society's ...

from 2012 to 2014. His areas of interest include the history and philosophy of chemistry and physics, the philosophy of scientific practice,

measurement in quantum mechanics In quantum physics, a measurement is the testing or manipulation of a physical system to yield a numerical result. The predictions that quantum physics makes are in general probabilistic. The mathematical tools for making predictions about what m ...

realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...

, scientific evidence, pluralism and

pragmatism Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that considers words and thought as tools and instruments for prediction, problem solving, and action, and rejects the idea that the function of thought is to describe, represent, or mirror reality. ...

Early life and education

Chang was born in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

in 1967 to Korean civil servant (later politician) Che-Shik Chang and teacher Woo Sook Choi. Chang is the younger brother of economist

Ha-Joon Chang Ha-Joon Chang (; ; born 7 October 1963) is a South Korean institutional economist, specialising in development economics. Chang is the author of several widely discussed policy books, most notably ''Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strateg ...

and cousin of economist and Korea University professor Hasung Jang. He is married to psychotherapist Gretchen Siglar. Chang studied at

Northfield Mount Hermon School Northfield Mount Hermon School, often called NMH, is a co-educational preparatory school in Gill, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is a member of the Eight Schools Association. Present day NMH offers nearly 200 courses, including AP a ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

where he was valedictorian in 1985, and was a visiting student at

Hampshire College Hampshire College is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was opened in 1970 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges in the Pioneer Valley: Amherst College, Smith College, Mo ...

. He graduated at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

in 1989 with a B.S. Honors in an Independent Studies Program, concentrating on

theoretical physics Theoretical physics is a branch of physics that employs mathematical models and abstractions of physical objects and systems to rationalize, explain and predict natural phenomena. This is in contrast to experimental physics, which uses experim ...

and philosophy. He went to Stanford University where he completed his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in philosophy in 1993. His dissertation topic was entitled, ''Measurement and the Disunity of Quantum Physics''. He was also a visiting graduate student at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

Career and awards

Chang was a research associate in physics at Harvard University from July 1993 to December 1994. In 1995 he moved to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

where he worked as a lecturer at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

Department of Science and Technology Studies The UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) is an academic department in University College London, London, England. It is part of UCL's Faculty of Mathematics and Physical Sciences. The department offers academic training at both ...

, becoming a professor in 2008. Chang moved to the

in 2010, becoming the Hans Rausing Professor of History and Philosophy of Science. He worked as a consultant on BBC Four's series '' Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity'' and

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

's '' Genius of Britain: The Scientists Who Changed the World''. He appeared on

EBS EBS may refer to: Broadcasting * EBS TV (Ethiopia) * Educational Broadband Service, US TV service * Educational Broadcasting System, South Korea ** EBS 1, a South Korean television channel * Emergency Broadcast System, former US Warning system ...

's series ''Chang Hasok's Science Meets Philosophy'' from February to May 2014, where he delivered lectures in Korean. Chang is a founding member of the Committee for Integrated History and Philosophy of Science and the Society for Philosophy of Science in Practice, and he served as president of the

from 2012 to 2014 and vice-president from 2014 to 2015. He won the

Lakatos Award The Lakatos Award is given annually for an outstanding contribution to the philosophy of science, widely interpreted. The contribution must be in the form of a monograph, co-authored or single-authored, and published in English during the previ ...

in 2006 for his book ''Inventing Temperature: Measurement and Scientific Progress'' and in 2013 he won the Fernando Gil International Prize for the Philosophy of Science for his book ''Is Water ?: Evidence, Realism and Pluralism''. On May 10, 2016, he gave the Wilkins-Bernal-Medawar Lecture at the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

. He was awarded the Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics in 2021 from the American Physical Society "For innovative and influential studies on the history and philosophy of the physical sciences, including scholarly works on scientific evidence, the physics-chemistry interaction, and historical and epistemic aspects of thermal physics."

Bibliography

English

*''Inventing Temperature: Measurement and Scientific Progress'' (2004) *''Is Water ?: Evidence, Realism and Pluralism'' (2012)

Korean

* ''(Science Meets Philosophy)'' (2014)

Media appearances

* '' Horizon'', " What is One Degree?" (January 10, 2011) – Interviewed by

Ben Miller Bennet Evan Miller (born 24 February 1966) is an English actor, comedian, and author. He rose to fame as one half of the comedy duo Armstrong and Miller. Miller is also known for playing the lead role of DI Richard Poole in the first two serie ...

* '' Nova – Absolute Zero: The Conquest of Cold'' (January 8, 2008) *''Chang Hasok's Science Meets Philosophy'' (February–May 2014) – Aired on

References

External links

Hasok Chang
on

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chang, Hasok 1967 births Living people American expatriates in the United Kingdom 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers American philosophers California Institute of Technology alumni Fellows of Clare Hall, Cambridge Hampshire College alumni Harvard University alumni Historians of science Philosophers of science South Korean emigrants to the United States South Korean expatriates in the United Kingdom South Korean historians South Korean philosophers Stanford University alumni Northfield Mount Hermon School alumni Indong Jang clan American male non-fiction writers