Podcasts about historical scientific instruments

Welcome to HMSC Connects! where we go behind the scenes of four Harvard museums to explore the connections between us, our big, beautiful world, and even what lies beyond. For this week's episode host Jennifer Berglund is speaking with Hannah Marcus, a professor in Harvard's History of Science Department, and the new Faculty Director of the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments.

Welcome to HMSC Connects! where we go behind the scenes of four Harvard museums to explore the connections between us, our big, beautiful world, and even what lies beyond. For this week's episode host Jennifer Berglund is speaking with Aaron Gluck-Thaler, and Carolyn Bailey, PhD candidates in the History of Science and Visual Studies Departments at Harvard, and two of the guest curators for a new exhibition on surveillance at Harvard's Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments, which is slated to open on September 21.

If you do a Google image search for Maria Mitchell, one of the top results will be a portrait of her elegantly dressed, seated, and looking though a telescope. This image romanticizes and perpetuates the story of Maria as a lone astronomer on a distant island discovering a comet and being the first woman awarded the gold medal from the King of Denmark. But like most success stories, it's not nearly that simple.Credits:This has been a production of the Nantucket Atheneum. Written, edited and narrated by Janet Forest Special thanks to the Atheneum's Reference Library Associate Jim Borzilleri and Historian and Deputy Director of the Maria Mitchell Association Jascin Leonardo Finger for their research and insights.Voice of Alexander Dallas Bache performed by Andrew Cromartie.Resources and additional information:•Click HERE for an image of the Bonds' American Method Device. Source: Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments, Department of the History of Science, Harvard University• More on the fraying of the relationship between the Bonds and the US Coast Survey (USCS)The 1851 Exhibition marked a turning point in Bache's relationship with the Bonds. Bache had previously considered the Bonds as overly compliant towards Airy and the Liverpool Observatory during their longitude work for the USCS, and now he quietly began looking for an alternative to the Harvard College Observatory (HCO).  The situation worsened when George Bond got into a scientific fight with several of Bache's allies around 1854; a few had Harvard and USCS/Nautical Almanac connections, and almost all were part of the "Lazzaroni" group headed by Prof. Agassiz at Harvard.  When the Lazzaroni pushed the creation of the National Academy of Sciences in early 1863, George Bond was conspicuously excluded.That said, most of Bache's attempts to cut out the Bonds ended in failure. HCO and Bond & Sons kept innovating and improving their products, and the HCO continued to be a significant "default" latitude point for North America.   It was only ten years later, with the start of the Civil War, that Bache finally succeeded. Matthew Maury, the head of the US Naval Observatory joined the Confederacy, and a Bache ally took over the USNO. The Nautical Almanac moved to Washington, and coastal survey work ended, leaving the HCO isolated and underfunded. Most of the HCO's assistants enlisted for the Union, and George Bond, now widowed and working almost alone, gave up coffee and newspapers to help cut costs. The HCO was still doing important work and was critical to the success of Bond & Sons, but the center of gravity had shifted to the latter, now run by Richard Bond and John Clinch. The Nantucket Atheneum is located at 1 India Street in Nantucket, MA.You can visit us online at www.nantucketatheneum.org 

Welcome to HMSC Connects! where we go behind the scenes of four Harvard museums to explore the connections between us, our big, beautiful world, and even what lies beyond. For this week's episode host Jennifer Berglund is speaking with Richard Ketchen, a horologist, or artisan who makes and repairs clocks.

Welcome to HMSC Connects! where Jennifer Berglund goes behind the scenes of four Harvard museums to explore the connections between us, our big, beautiful world, and even what lies beyond. This week Jennifer Berglund is speaking with Peter Galison, Director of the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments and Pellegrino University Professor of the History of Science and of Physics at Harvard. He is also co-founder of the Black Hole Initiative which, with the internationally-based Event Horizon Telescope project, successfully captured an image of a black hole in 2019. The discovery also inspired Galison’s recent film The Edge of All We Know.

Welcome to HMSC Connects! where Jennifer Berglund goes behind the scenes of four Harvard museums to explore the connections between us, our big, beautiful world, and even what lies beyond.For our second episode celebrating women's suffrage this month, Jennifer is speaking with Sara Schechner, curator of the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments.  Sara is a historian of science, specializing in material culture and the history of astronomy. She's also an expert in the history of women in science. Sara Schechner's website: https://www.altazimutharts.com/ 

PETER GALISON is the Joseph Pellegrino University Professor of the History of Science and of Physics at Harvard University and Director of the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments. The Conversation: https://www.edge.org/conversation/peter_galison-how-technology-changes-our-concept-of-the-self

Jean-François Gauvin, director of administration at the Harvard Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments and lecturer on the history of science, talks about "The Philosophy Chamber: Art and Science in Harvard’s Teaching Cabinet, 1766–1820" on view from May 19 through December 31, 2017. http://www.harvardartmuseums.org/visit/calendar/gallery-talk-philosophy-chamber-conversations-scientific-instruments-at-harvard

The oceans cover 70% of our planet, but did you know that less than 5% of the ocean floor has been explored? In the face of rapid climate change, ocean scientists are racing to understand what makes a healthy ocean and how rapid changes in ocean temperature, currents and chemistry will affect biodiversity, fishing, tourism, land erosion and myriad of other aspects that will affect us on land. Thanks to our wonderful collaborators at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study and the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments for sponsoring our live audience recording. Many thanks to our wonderful podcast guest scientists Christina Hernandez, Gabriela Farfan, and Hanny Rivera for sharing their insights. Cheers, The SIT'N Listen Team Edited by Executive Producer Vinidhra Mani with valuable feedback from Executive Producers Elizabeth Jaensch and Amy Gilson Image Credit: Gabriela Farfan, Hanny Rivera

We’re back with a new episode of Sit’N Listen! This time we're delving into the world of sex, gender, and sports. Men and women have been competing in separate athletic events since at least the time of the ancient Greeks. But why? What biological differences affect the way men and women play sports? And what impact does all of this have on athletics, and on our broader culture? Tune in to find out! Correspondents: Dana Boebinger, Rachel Hanebutt, Brittany Mayweather, and Michael Ruiz Produced by Michelle Frank Sound editing by Dana Boebinger Special thanks to Kristen Osborne and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, which co-sponsored this podcast as part of their upcoming conference on sports, gender, and society. We're also grateful to Jean-Francois Gauvin and Harvard's Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments for hosting the live recording of this podcast. We will post show notes with references and script on our website: sitn.hms.harvard.edu. Feel free to send us any comments, questions, or topic suggestions at sitnpodcast@gmail.com. All the best, The Sit’N Listen team: Michelle Frank, Amy Gilson, Elizabeth Jaensch, Vini Mani, and Angela She

Sit'N Listen is back with another edition of Science and Society, a collaboration across disciplines. Here, we discuss many issues surrounding how certain concepts of sex and gender have become norms in our society and how these are shaped by (in, in turn, shape) our scientific understanding of this subject. Correspondents: Rachel Hanebutt, Michelle Frank, Jessica Cussins, Kellie Owens Advised by: Amy Gilson, Prof. Sheila Jasanoff Special thank you to Jean Francois Gauvin and the Center for Historical Scientific Instruments at Harvard for making this wonderful live recording happen. If you happen to be in the Boston area, please do check out the exhibit! Sit'N Listen (S&S) Producers: Amy Gilson and Vinidhra Mani