Ruth Schwartz Cowan Elected to American Philosophical Society

Ruth Schwartz Cowan, Professor Emerita in the Department of History and Sociology of Science in Penn Arts and Sciences, has been elected a member of the American Philosophical Society (APS). The APS was founded in 1743 as the country’s first learned society, and past members include Benjamin Franklin, Marie Curie, and Albert Einstein.

Cowan is a historian of science, technology and medicine. Her books include More Work for Mother: The Ironies Of Household Technology from The Open Hearth To The Microwave, A Social History of American Technology, and Heredity and Hope: The Case for Genetic Screening. She is a fellow and trustee of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia and Chair of the Community Advisor Board for Genetic Studies of the North Shore/Long Island Jewish Health System.

Cowan is active in the Society for the History of Technology, serving as its president from 1992-94, and the History of Science Society. She serves on the editorial board of Social Studies of Science. She has been a member of the Smithsonian Council, the MIT Corporation Visiting Committee for the Humanities, the Advisory Board of the University of California-Santa Barbara Center for Nanotechnology in Society, and the Executive Committee of the Philadelphia Area Center for the History of Science. For several years she was the Chair of the U.S. National Committee, International Union for the History and Philosophy of Science.  

The APS promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and community outreach.