The Lindberg Award
2012 Lindberg Award Recipient
Jan Golinski, Professor of History and Humanities
2013 Lindberg Lecture
April 11, 2013
12:30, Reception,
1:00, Lecture
110 Murkland Hall
Romantic Science: Humphry Davy’s Consolations in Travel
Award Announced February 21, 2012
Jan Golinski, Professor of History and Humanities, has been selected as the 2012 recipient of the Lindberg Award, given annually to the outstanding teacher-scholar in the College of Liberal Arts.
Professor Golinski earned his undergraduate degree at Cambridge University in England and his Ph.D. at the University of Leeds. He was appointed to the UNH faculty in 1990. Professor Golinski's record of scholarship over the past two plus decades is impressive. He is now considered a leading international scholar in the history of science. At the same time, he has shown a strong dedication to teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate level and consistently earns high praise from students across the board.
Professor Golinski has authored three books: Science as Public Culture: Chemistry and Enlightenment in Britain, 1760-1820 (Cambridge UP, 1992; paperback, 1999); Making Natural Knowledge: Constructivism and the History of Science (Cambridge UP, 1998; 2nd ed., 2005); and British Weather and the Climate of Enlightenment (Chicago UP, 2007), which won the 2007 history book prize from Atmospheric Science Librarians International. He has co-edited a fourth book on enlightenment sciences; published dozens of book chapters, journal articles, and reviews; and is a regular participant at academic conferences. He has served on the editorial board of four journals, including the three most important journals in his field. He has been recognized with a number of prestigious fellowships, most recently, the Gordon Cain Distinguished Fellowship at the Chemical Heritage Foundation, which will take place in Philadelphia next fall. There he will continue work on his current book project, which examines the career of Humphry Davy, a nineteenth-century British chemist and inventor (discoverer of elements and creator of the Davy lamp).
One colleague of his commented that Professor Golinski's work is characterized by an interdisciplinary command not only of the history of science but also of its cultural and social contexts. Another said that, in the classroom, Professor Golinski seems an expert on all subjects of intellectual and cultural history. This broad command is part of what makes him an engaging and effective teacher, equally adept in a humanities introductory course and a specialized PhD seminar. Students recognize and praise this expert knowledge. They also appreciate his teaching style, commenting that he is laid-back and has a great sense of humor even as he is rigorous in his expectations. Not surprisingly, Professor Golinski's teaching evaluations are consistently high.
In short, Professor Golinski has demonstrated that he possesses the highest qualities of scholarship and teaching and is most deserving of the Lindberg Award. Please join me in congratulating him.
