We are delighted to announce that Prof Liba Taub, Fellow and Senior Tutor of Newnham College, has been awarded the Paul Bunge Prize of the Hans R Jenemann Foundation. The prize is awarded jointly by the Society of German Chemists (GDCh) and the German Bunsen Society for Physical Chemistry, and recognises Prof Taub’s ‘outstanding contributions to the history of science instruments’.
Prof Liba Taub is a distinguished historian of science, with a particular focus on material culture and the role of scientific instruments within our understanding of science.
For many years she has been Director and Curator of the Whipple Museum of the History of Science. She has worked to change our understanding of historical scientific instruments, from objects of craft and beauty, to practical tools which have shaped changing understandings of the world.
Alison Rose, Principal, said “Newnham College is delighted by this international recognition of the importance of Liba Taub’s research, and her contribution to the ways in which we understand scientific thought – not as something which is a purely cerebral process, but one which is shaped by the tools and resources at our disposal. This past year, more than ever, we have seen the importance of reflecting on the scientific process; it seems particularly appropriate for Liba’s work to be celebrated now, in 2021.”
Liba Taub is Director of Studies in history and philosophy of science at Newnham, and has published numerous articles in edited volumes and specialist journals.
She has received several academic awards and is an elected member of numerous scientific and historical associations. Since 2017, she has been Vice President of the Académie internationale d’Histoire des Sciences.
Liba Taub said, “I am really thrilled by this recognition of my work on the history of scientific instruments, especially as it comes from so many highly regarded specialists in the field. I am deeply grateful to those with whom I have collaborated, including colleagues at the Whipple Museum and the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, and our students. And I hope that chemists and others will continue to be interested in, support and contribute to the preservation and study of the material culture of science.”