Homepage of Prof. Dr. Klaus Hentschel

Since Oct. 1, 2007: Director of the Section for History of Science and Technology in the Historical Institute of the University of Stuttgart, currently advisor of twelve Ph.D. dissertations in the history of science and technology. Since Oct. 15, 2007: Substitute Director and since Oct. 18, 2010: Director of the Historical Institute; since March 1, 2010: Substitute Dean (Prodekan) of the Philosophical-Historical Faculty.

Main Research Interests:

Comparative history of science and technology
History of materials science (esp. disciplinary status, materials testing, and metallography)
Research Technologies (esp. applied laser research; future research project)
Visual science cultures – a comparative analysis (current book project)
Invisible hands in physics research practice (last anthology 2008 and monography on Gauß’s instrument maker Meyerstein 2005)
Historical ontology: A systematic study of arguments for the taxonomy of rays ca.1700-1900 (last book)
Mentality of German physicists shortly after 1945
Mapping the Spectrum: Techniques of Visual Representation in Research and Education
Interplay of Instrumentation, Experiment and Theory (with case studies on redshift in the solar spectrum, 1880-1960): Habilitation Thesis 1995 and various papers
Physics and National Socialism: (An Anthology of Primary Texts, 1996)
Philosophical Interpretations of Relativity Theory (Dissertation 1989, publ. 1990)
History of Philosophy of Science, esp. Berlin and Vienna Circle as well as Ernst Mach and Pierre Duhem

Mendelson-Skizze

Please click on the following items:

Publications: Books, Papers and Reviews

Talks given

Teaching in the Past

Current Teaching, click here then follow the link ‘Lehre’

Recent research on the German Physical Society during the NS-period

In the following, please find a brief cv and other information on Hentschel’s activities

Short anti-chronological vita:

Late Sept. 2006: Acceptance of the call to the full professorship for History of Science and Technology at the University of Stuttgart

Summer 2006: Call to a full Professorship (W3) with directorial functions at the University of Stuttgart and to a Lichtenberg-Professorship for comparative history of science at the University of Halle, for five years endowed by the VW-Stiftung

Oct.2005-March 2006: Professorial Substitute of the Chair for History of Science and Technology at the Univ. of Stuttgart

Dec. 2005: Elected corresponding member of the Académie Internationale d'Histoire des Sciences in Paris

Sept. 2003-Sept. 2005: Major research grant for experienced scholars at the Institut für Philosophie, Lehrstuhl für Wissenschaftstheorie und Wissenschaftsgeschichte, Univ. of Bern

End of 2003: elected as fellow by the Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina in Halle
summer term of 2003: Ernst Cassirer guest professor at the university of Hamburg
1996-2002: assistant professor (Oberassistent) at the Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte, Univ. Göttingen
1995: Habilitation in History of Science at the Institut für Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften, Mathematik und Technik, Universität Hamburg
1991-1995: lecturer (wissenschaftlicher Assistent) at the newly founded Göttingen Institute for History of Science.
1990/91: Researcher in an interdisciplinary DFG project on epistemic systems
1989/90: Fellow at the Verbund für Wissenschaftsgeschichte, Berlin
1989: Ph.D. thesis (Promotion) in History of Science at the Institut für Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften, Hamburg
1987: Master's thesis (Diplom) in high energy physics at the 2nd Institute for Theoretical Physics, Univ. Hamburg
1985: Magister in philosophy at the University of Hamburg with a double-major in physics and philosophy.

Prizes and Grants:

grant from the Gerda-Henkel Stiftung for a conference on analogies in science, technology and medicine in mid-March 2008
2007: grant from the Baden-Württembergische Ministry of Culture and Education to prepare two major EU grants on research technologies
2005: travel grant from the Swiss Federal Agency of Foreign Affairs for a conference visit in Dhaka, Bangladesh
1999: Leopoldina-Prize for History of Science, issued by the German Academy of Scientists Leopoldina, Halle,
1998: Prix international d'histoire des sciences Marc-Auguste-Pictet, issued by the Societe de Physique et d'Histoire Naturelle de Geneve,
1997: Grant by the American Institute of Physics for research at the Niels Bohr Library and Archive
1996/97: Fellowship at the Dibner Institute for History of Science and Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
1993: Paul-Bunge-Prize of the Hans R. Jenemann Stiftung, issued by the Deutschen Bunsen-Gesellschaft and the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker.
1992: Heinz-Maier-Leibnitz Prize of the German Federal Ministry for Education and Science (Bundesminister für Bildung und Wissenschaft),
1990: Kurt-Hartwig-Siemers Prize of the Hamburger Wissenschaftliche Stiftung
1987: Grant from the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) to do research at the Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, at that time still in Boston.
1980-86 Scholarship from the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes.

Membership in Professional Organisations:

History of Science Society,
Philosophy of Science Association,
Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft(Fachverband Geschichte der Physik and AK Physics and Philosophy),
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte der Medizin, Naturwissenschaften und Technik e.V.,
Arbeitskreis Astronomiegeschichte,
Georg-Agricola-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Naturwissenschaften und der Technik e.V.
Deutscher Hochschulverband.
member of the Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina (since late 2003)
corresponding member of the Académie Internationale d'Histoire des Sciences in Paris (elected in late 2005)

Membership in Editorial Committees and Boards of Journals and Book Series:

Elected member of the Governing Board of the History of Physics Branch (Fachverband Geschichte der Physik) of the German Physical Society (DPG) since late 1998 until March 2011
Editorial Board Member of Physics in Perspective (ed. by Roger H. Stuewer and John S. Rigden, publ. by Birkhäuser Verlag since 1999).
Editorial board member of Stuttgarter Historische Forschungen (since 2006)
Editorial board member of NTM. Journal of the History of Science, Technology and Medicine (2008-2010)
Editorial board member of Sudhoffs Archiv. Zeitschrift für Wissenschaftsgeschichte (since 2010)
Referee for:

seven publishers in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, England and the US,
sixteen journals in Belgium, Canada, Switzerland, France, England, Germany and the US,
four science funding agencies in Germany, Austria, and France
ten universites or student aid organizations in Germany, Great Britain and the US.

Other Academic Activities, esp. Organization of Conferences and Workshops (in chronological sequence):

Co-Organizer of the Colloquium in History of Science at the Institut f. Wissenschaftsgeschichte, Goettingen University, 1991-98
Organizer of a Symposium in Honor of Friedrich Hund's 100th Birthday, Feb. 1996
Co-Organizer (with Friedrich Steinle) of a Session on the Interplay of Experiment, Instrumentation and Theory at the PSA Bi-Annual Meeting in Cleveland, Nov. 1996
of a Symposium on the Early History of the Electron, Nov. 1997
Thematic Organizer of a one-day conference on `non-verbal representations in astronomy' at the Göttingen Observatory, Sept. 1999,
and of a conference on visual representations in physics, Hamburg, March 26-27, 2001: From the wood-cut to the Feynman-graph
In Göttingen advisor of one Ph.D. student (G. Rammer), and (1996-98) of one postdoc (A. Loettgers).
Member of the Advisory Committee of the Göttingen University Archive as substitute for the vacant chair, 1992-1996
Elected member of the Governing Board ( Vorstand ) of the Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte as representative of the Mittelbau, since its inception 1997 until 2002
Elected member of the Governing Board of the History of Physics Branch (Fachverband Geschichte der Physik) of the German Physical Society (DPG) since late 1998 until March 2011
Active member of the DPG-Study Group on the history of the German Physical Society during the NS-period
End of 2003: elected as a new fellow by the Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina in Halle
Keynote speaker at the annual conference of the Gesellschaft für Wissenschaftsgeschichte in Jena, May 2004
Commentator of a session in the annual conference of the Gesellschaft für Technikgeschichte, Vienna June 2004
Participant of a workshop on the use of history in physics teaching, Bonn-Bad Honnef (DPG)
Organizer of a session on the history of recent science in the annual meeting of the German Society for History of Medicine, Science and Technology (DGGMNT) in Mainz, Sept. 2004
Co-organizer of the annual conference of the Swiss Society for the History of Medicine and Science in Bern, Oct. 2004
participant of an International workshop on Einstein and Bose in Dhaka, Bangladesh in May 2005
co-organizer of an Intern. workshop on `Networks of knowledge - metaphor or method?' in Bern, Sept. 2005
main organizer of a conference on „invisible hands“ in physics research practice and teaching, German Physical Society, Regensburg, March 2007
co-editor (together with Brigitte Falkenburg, Peter Mittelstaedt und Friedel Weinert) of a dictionary: Compendium of Quantum Physics .Concepts, Experiments, History and Philosophy, which appeared in 2009 at Springer Publishers, Berlin, Heidelberg and New York.
co-organizer of the biannual conference of the History of Physics branch (FV Geschichte der Physik) of the German Physical Society (DPG) in Regensburg, Germany, under the title: "Invisible Hands".
co-organizer of an interdisciplinary German-Italian Symposium on “New perspectives on Leonardo da Vinci and other artists-engineers of the Renaissance” at the University of Stuttgart, May 4, 2007
organizer of an interdisciplinary meeting of the Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina on analogies in science, technology and medicine, taking place at the IBZ in Stuttgart in March 2008
co-organizer of an interdisciplinary conference on heuristics in physics, hosted by the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft at the House of Physics in Bonn / Bad Honnef in Dec. 10-12, 2010; see the call for papers and the final program.
co-organizer of an interdisciplinary workshop on the history and philosophy of simulation, hosted by the Exzellenzcluster SimTech of the University of Stuttgart at the IBZ in Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Sept. 21-23, 2010.
Local co-organizer of the annual conference of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Geschichte der Medizin, Naturwissenschaft und Technik e.V. at Stuttgart University, Sept. 23-25, 2010 with the theme: "Research Technologies";

Interviews and other Media Activities:

several interviews and cooperations with Media teams from BBC, Radio Bremen, Göttinger Stadtradio and Westdeutscher Rundfunk
detailed interview on Göttingen scientists and mathematicians by Culture Productions (French television, broadcasted on 16. Oct. 2001 in France's Cinquième as 6-part series: `Un Siècle de Progrès sans merci'), also translated into Greek and other languages and broadcasted in Greek television and elsewhere.
commentary on theater plays `Operation Epsilon' (Schauspielhaus Hannover, 1995)
commentary on Michael Frayn's `Copenhagen' (Berlin and Copenhagen, 2000/01; cf. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), Mi., 26 Sept, p. N5).
interview by KBS (South-Korean State television), broadcasted on 16 April 2005 in `Einstein'.
Interview by a team from the Filmakademie (Ludwigsburg, near Stuttgart) on thought experiments, Jan. 2007.
Interview by the Süddeutsche Zeitung about the LHC at CERN, Sept. 10, 2008
Interview by the Südwestdeutscher Rundfunk (SWR2) about the creation of a new endowed chair at the University of Stuttgart for the history of the impact of technology, recorded and broadcasted on Nov. 15, 2010
Interview by with Merlijn Schoonenboom for the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant about the reasons for the production and export boom of German industry and the background of the 'made in Germany' label, Nov. 26th, 2010, to be published in late Nov. 2010

Address:

Mail: Prof.Dr.rer.nat.habil. Dipl.phys. Klaus Hentschel M.A.
Historisches Institut, Abt. GNT

Keplerstr. 17, level 8a,
D-70174 Stuttgart, Germany
E-Mail: Klaus.hentschel@po.hi.uni-stuttgart.de

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Homepage Klaus Hentschel, last modified Dec. 4, 2010