Professor Lorraine Daston
Darwin alumna Professor Lorraine Daston (Diploma in History and Philosophy of Science, 1973) has been awarded the Balzan Prize for History of Modern and Contemporary Science.
Administered by the International Balzan Prize Foundation, the prize’s aim is to “foster culture, the sciences and the most meritorious initiatives in the cause of humanity, peace, and fraternity among peoples throughout the world.”
Professor Daston is Director Emerita of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin and Visiting Professor in the Committee on Social Thought, University of Chicago.
The prize was awarded “for the extent, originality and variety of her work, which has drawn on a wide range of scientific fields to highlight the mental representations and values underlying research activity; for the number and quality of her articles and books, which have opened up new paths in the history and epistemology of sciences; for her contribution to the training of generations of researchers; and for her support – as head of prestigious institutions – for innovative research projects.”
Another alumnus, Professor Piero Boitani (PhD English 1971) was awarded the Balzan Prize for Comparative Literature in 2016.
