History professor elected as chair for national science association
Jonathan Coopersmith, professor in the Department of History, was elected as Chair-Elect, Chair, and Retiring Chair for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Section for the History and Philosophy of Science
By Alix Poth ’18
The members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Section for the History and Philosophy of Science elected Jonathan Coopersmith, professor in the Department of History, to a three-year term as Chair-Elect, Chair, and Retiring Chair.
The annual election selected 119 members and was open to all AAAS members from Dec. 3, 2019 through Jan. 6, 2020, and included the election of two members of the AAAS Board of Directors, four members of the AAAS Committee on Nominations and officers of AAAS’ 24 discipline-specific sections.
The wide range of disciplines represented by AAAS is one of the organization’s particular strengths, president-elect Susan Amara said.
“AAAS’ diversity of expertise offers opportunities for collaboration to address the numerous challenges facing today’s world, including climate change, food security and the opiate epidemic,” she said.
Coopersmith’s research involves energy economics, law, and security, the history of energy and technology, and more. He said he considers it an honor to be elected to represent the History and Philosophy of Science Section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science as a chair.
“The scientific and technological structures of our society have evolved over the decades,” Coopersmith said. “One of the responsibilities of historians and philosophers is to inform our contemporaries about the paths followed and not followed that led to today. I am excited to be part of that effort.”
Learn more about Coopersmith’s work here.