About PACHS
Promoting scholarly and public understanding of history of science, technology and medicine.
Located in the birthplace of American science, the Philadelphia Area Center for History of Science (PACHS) promotes public and scholarly understanding of the multitude of ways in which science, technology, and medicine shape our lives. PACHS makes use of the Philadelphia area’s exceptional resources to support research, to foster a vibrant community of scholars, and to build bridges between scholars and members of the general public.
PACHS was established in 2006 with grants from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the National Science Foundation as a consortium of eleven educational and cultural institutions with significant resources in the history of science, broadly construed. In the three years since its inception, PACHS has established a fellowship program, a colloquium series, public lectures, and a Web site. Highlights include:
- Public Events - In partnership with its consortium members, PACHS has sponsored public lectures and a film festival. The 2008–2009 academic year concluded with a three-day public conference in partnership with the Franklin Institute on the legacy of Galileo, attracting an audience of 300.
- Scholarly Events - In 2008 PACHS started a regional colloquium series. These “Roving Regional Colloquia” strengthen community by bringing together scholars and students from more than 30 local organizations and promoting the scholarly resources of the host institutions. In addition, PACHS has co-sponsored three scholarly conferences and is developing a conference-support competition program.
- Fellowships - A unique strength of PACHS is the ability to offer research support to scholars using collections at multiple member institutions. By June 2009, PACHS Fellows spent more than 50 research sessions—from a day to a month in duration—in area archives.
- Online Presence - The Center launched this Web site with a comprehensive calendar listing regional events related to history of science. The site now includes fellows’ research reports, “News and Notes,” and interactive features such as event registration and fellowship applications. Two online exhibits, Web of Healing and Dialogues with Darwin, are part of a move toward creating an ambitious destination Web site that will attract the interest of scholars and researchers throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region and beyond.
- Governance - PACHS was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) organization in 2007. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors comprising distinguished leaders from the area’s educational, research, cultural, and business institutions. Beginning in fall 2009 PACHS will also benefit from the input of an external advisory board.
PACHS relies on its individual and institutional partners for financial, intellectual, and strategic support. We welcome opportunities for new partnerships to pursue our ambitious program as a scholarly and cultural institution, advancing knowledge about our past and contributing to the public discourse about our future.
Website design and programming by Nanomonkey.
