Heinz Otto Sibum (29 March 1956) is a German

historian of science The history of science covers the development of science from ancient history, ancient times to the present. It encompasses all three major branches of science: natural science, natural, social science, social, and formal science, formal. Pr ...

, Hans Rausing Professor and Director of the Office for History of Science at the

University of Uppsala Uppsala University (UU) () is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially founded in the 15th century, the university rose to s ...

Biography

H. Otto Sibum holds a doctoral degree in physics (Dr.rer.nat.) from Oldenburg University (1989) and his habilitation in history from the

TU Braunschweig TU Braunschweig (, unofficially ''University of Braunschweig – Institute of Technology'') is the oldest ' (comparable to an institute of technology in the American system) in Germany. It was founded in 1745 as Collegium Carolinum and is a membe ...

(2001). He has been Director of Research at the Max Planck Institute for History of Science in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

(1998 – 2007) as well as Research Associate at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

(1991-1995). He was awarded best teacher at British Universities for his teaching of history of science at Cambridge University (1992) and has received various scholarly awards like the Paul-Bunge-Prize (1994) for the best publication in history of science, as well as the scientific excellence grant from the Max Planck Society, Germany (1998). He was a visiting researcher and professor at various institutions: Cambridge University,

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

, Professeur invité (directeur de recherche) at the

École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales The School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (, EHESS) is a graduate ''grande école'' and '' grand établissement'' in Paris focused on academic research in the social sciences. The school awards Master and PhD degrees alone and conj ...

, Paris (2008), visiting professor at the Max Planck Institute for History of Science (2008, 2009, 2010) and at Si-Mian Center for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at East China Normal University, Shanghai (2010).

Research

Otto Sibum’s research covers the history of the physical sciences from the 18th century until present. His studies are dedicated to exploring new approaches in social and cultural history of the sciences. He has recently worked on laboratory practices, instruments and the historical experiment in research.

Selected publications

*Ed, The Heavens on Earth. Observatories and Astronomy in Nineteenth-Century Science and Culture (co-editors David Aubin and Charlotte Bigg), Duke University Press 2010 *”Historians and the Study of Material Culture”, AHR Conversation with L. Auslander, Amy Bentley, H. Leor, H. O. Sibum, C. Witmore, The American Historical Review, vol. 114, no. 5, 2009, 1355-1404. *Ed, Science and the Changing Senses of Reality circa 1900, Special volume of Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, 39 (3) Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2008, 295 - 458 *Changing Tastes: How Things Tasted in the Early Modern Period and How They Taste Now, with Steven Shapin, Uppsala Universitet, 2011. *“From the Library to the Laboratory and Back Again: Experiment as a Tool for Historians of Science”, with Fors, H., Principe, L., Ambix, 63(2): 85-97, 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sibum, Heinz Otto Academic staff of Uppsala University German historians of science 20th-century German historians Living people University of Oldenburg alumni TU Braunschweig alumni 1956 births 21st-century German historians