Kohlstedt appointed director of the History of Science and Technology program

Professor Sally Gregory Kohlstedt has been appointed the new director of the Institute of Technology’s History of Science and Technology program beginning July 1, 2008. Kohlstedt replaces current director Alan E. Shapiro who will continue as a full-time faculty member in the program.

As director, Kohlstedt will provide leadership for the History of Science and Technology program, which ranks among the country’s best programs of its kind. The program offers both M.A. and Ph.D. degrees, with comprehensive opportunities for advanced research and study in history of the physical sciences, the biological sciences, and technology.

Kohlstedt has served as a faculty member at the University of Minnesota since 1989 where she is currently a professor in the History of Science and Technology program. Previously, she served as associate dean for academic affairs in the Institute of Technology from 1989–1995 and director of the University’s Center for Advanced Feminist Studies from 1997–1999. She also was interim chair of the University’s Department of Anthropology from 2004–2006.

Her research focuses on the history of science, specifically the natural sciences. In recent years her investigation includes the participation by women and the impact such participation has had on the practice of science. Kohlstedt teaches courses in science and technology in American culture as well as women in science.

Kohlstedt has published eight books and received numerous awards including Smithsonian Institution, Woodrow Wilson Center, and Fulbright fellowships. Most recently, she was named a Fulbright Senior Fellow and has spent the past several months at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. She has served in leadership positions on several professional boards including president of the History of Science Society and a member of the board of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Kohlstedt received a degree in history from Valparaiso University, a master’s degree from Michigan State University and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has served in faculty positions at Simmons College and Syracuse University and has held visiting professorships at Cornell University, University of Munich, and the University of Melbourne.