The UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies is an academic department in University College London, London, England. It is part of UCL's Faculty of Mathematics and Physical Sciences. The Department offers academic training at both undergraduate and graduate (MSc and MPhil/PhD) levels.
The department received its current name in 1994, renamed from the 'Department of History and Philosophy of Science' (originated in 1938), and previously 'the Department of History and Method of Science' (originated in 1921).
UCL was the first UK university to offer undergraduate degrees in this interdisciplinary subject, launching its BSc in History and Philosophy of Science in 1993. Two related BSc degrees followed shortly thereafter. At UCL, science and technology studies (abbreviated 'STS') includes the study of (1) history, philosophy and sociology of science, (2) science policy and governance, and (3) science communication, engagement, and evaluation.
Academic staff in the department in 2012–13 include: Dr Jon Agar, Dr Chiara Ambrosio, Dr Brian Balmer, Dr Karen Bultitude, Professor Joe Cain, Dr Brendan Clarke, Dr Andrew Gregory, Dr Phyllis Illari, Dr Inga Kroener, Dr Simon Jay Lock, Dr William MacLehose, Professor Steve Miller, Dr Jack Stilgoe, Dr Emma Tobin, and Dr Simon Werrett.
Other staff include: Professor Frank A. J. L. James (Visiting Professor in the History of Science), Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock OBE (Research Fellow), Dr Christine Aicardi (Research Fellow), and Dr Norma Morris (Research Fellow).
Emeritus staff include: Professor Hasok Chang, Professor Donald Gillies, Mr Nicholas Maxwell, Professor Arthur I. Miller, and Professor Piyo Rattansi.
Jon Agar is editor of the The British Journal for the History of Science.
Departmental offices are located in 22 Gordon Square, Bloomsbury, London.
Famous quotes containing the words department, science, technology and/or studies:
“We all live in a house on fire, no fire department to call; no way out, just the upstairs window to look out of while the fire burns the house down with us trapped, locked in it.”
—Tennessee Williams (1914–1983)
“Political liberty, the peace of a nation, and science itself are gifts for which Fate demands a heavy tax in blood!”
—Honoré De Balzac (1799–1850)
“If we had a reliable way to label our toys good and bad, it would be easy to regulate technology wisely. But we can rarely see far enough ahead to know which road leads to damnation. Whoever concerns himself with big technology, either to push it forward or to stop it, is gambling in human lives.”
—Freeman Dyson (b. 1923)
“...Women’s Studies can amount simply to compensatory history; too often they fail to challenge the intellectual and political structures that must be challenged if women as a group are ever to come into collective, nonexclusionary freedom.”
—Adrienne Rich (b. 1929)