Current Fellows
The Beckman Center for the History of Chemistry at the Science History Institute is pleased to announce our 2025–2026 class of fellows.
Our incoming fellows come from institutions around the United States and the world and use our collections to study a wide range of topics in the history and social studies of chemistry, chemical engineering, and the life sciences.
In addition to our postdoctoral, dissertation, distinguished, and short-term research fellows, the Beckman Center will once again welcome a two-year curatorial fellow who will assist with ongoing projects as staff members, expanding and exploring interpretive programs for our library and museum.
Fellows: 1987 to Present
The Beckman Center has hosted over 350 scholars from around the world. See a list of our fellows, along with their research topics and affiliation at the time of their stay.
Curatorial Fellow
Haas/NEH Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Samantha Wesner
Haas Postdoctoral Fellow
Citizens Electric: Electricity and Democracy in the Revolutionary Atlantic World
Postdoctoral Research Fellows
Dissertation Fellows
Elizabeth Bennett
Price-Cain Postdoctoral Fellow
From the Ashes, From the Acid: Histories and Geographies of Coal Refuse Management, Acid Mine Drainage Remediation, and Economic Development in Pennsylvania
Adam Quinn
Haas Postdoctoral Fellow
The Nature of Computing: The Making of Computers and the Remaking of American Capitalism
Csaba Olasz
Allington Dissertation Fellow
University of California, San Diego
The Humanist Impulse: A Movement Against Scientific Reductionism, 1950–1980
Koyna Tomar
Doan Dissertation Fellow
University of Pennsylvania
Dairy Democracy: Science, Cooperatives, and Capital in the Agrarian History of Modern India, 1880–1991
Cain Conference Fellows
Senior Fellows
Claiton Marcio da Silva
Haas Senior Fellow
Federal University of the Southern Frontier, Brazil
From Agent Orange to Tordon: Dow Chemical Controversies in Brazil (1970–1985)
Jacqueline Robinson
Ullyot Scholar
Independent Scholar
Countless Dignities: William A. Lester, Jr., Chemist and Educational Pioneer
Short-Term Fellows
Nikhil Joseph Dharan
Cain Fellow
University of Pennsylvania
Colonial Alchemies: Chemical Knowledge and the Industrial Landscape in South India, 1890–1940
Caroline Douglas
Otlet Fellow
Royal College of Art, United Kingdom
Cloths of Gold and Silver Stuff: Locating Elizabeth Fulhame in Early Photography
Adriana Fraser
Seidel Fellow
University of Pennsylvania
Making Danger: Biological Weapons Research, Biosafety, and the Management of Microbial Life, 1940–1990
Muskan Garg
Mistry Fellow
University of Toronto
Mapping the Global Circulation of Industrial Dyeing Knowledge
Nayanika Ghosh
Price Fellow
Duke University
Nature and Nation: Sociobiology and the Emergence of Feminist Science Critique in the Postwar United States
Nicole Liao
Cain Fellow
University of Toronto
“Truth to Nature”: Synthetic Color, Biology and Photo Media in the 19th Century
David Soares Mesquita
Doan Fellow
University of Lisbon
Integrating Alchemy into Academic Medicine: The Case of Estêvão Rodrigues de Castro (1559–1637)
Audrey Rankin
Herdegen Fellow
Temple University
Collecting for the Crown and Capital: Scientific Networks, Reform, and Ideas of Empire in Late 18th-Century New Granada
Research Fellows
Available Opportunities
Our scholars study a range of topics in the history and social studies of chemistry, chemical engineering, and the life sciences.
How to Apply
Access application forms and instructions for our fellowships and library travel grants.
Fellows: 1987 to Present
See a list of fellows through the years, along with their research topics and affiliation at the time of their stay.
Application Guide
Optimize your fellowship application with this guide to candidate selection criteria and much more.
Frequently Asked Questions
Get answers to common questions, including international visas and daily life at the Institute.
Named Fellowships
Learn about our named fellowships, their recipients, and the generous gifts that made them possible.