I have studied history and German language and literature (‘Germanistik’) at the Universities of Leiden (MA History, 2005, cum laude) in The Netherlands and Bamberg (1. Staatsexamen, 2006) in Germany. In 2012, I received my PhD from Leiden University. Since then, I have hold postdoc positions at the University of Twente (2012-2015) and the Chemical Heritage Foundation in Philadelphia (2015-2016). In 2016, I returned to the University of Twente to work as researcher on the project Making Sense of Handwritten Illustrated Archives (2016-2020). Since August 2017, I am a tenured assistant professor (focus: Science, Technology, and Culture) at the University of Twente. Since summer 2020, I am also PhD training coordinator of WTMC – the Netherlands Graduate Research School of Science, Technology, and Modern Culture.
Prizes
- Best teacher award (2020/21) of the MSc program Philosophy of Science, Technology, and Society (PSTS) at the University of Twente.
- In early 2019, I was awarded the Young Talent Award of the Faculty of Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences of the University of Twente.
- In 2016, an exhibition on the history of recycling which I have co-curated has received an ‘honorary mention’ award in the context of the 2016 international Dibner Award for Excellence in Museum Exhibits competition of the American Society for the History of Technology (=SHOT). The exhibition was displayed at Dutch National Museum for the History of Science and Medicine, Museum Boerhaave (2014/2015), in Leiden, and the Fries Museum (2016/2017).
Involvement in PhD examination committees:
- 2021: Oponent and member of doctoral examination committee (reading committee) of the dissertation: Context-Driven Knowledge Extraction from Archives of Natural History (by Lise Stork, Leiden University).
- 2019: Oponent and member of doctoral examination committee (reading committee) of the dissertation: Temminck’s order: Debates on Zoological Classification, 1800-1850 (by E. Gassó Miracle, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden; Leiden University).
Research grants and projects:
- 2022-2024: Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, ECCM MVI top-up (project: Socio-technical pathways and material choices for a responsible electrification of the production of chemicals and fuels, lead researcher: dr. Marco Altomare), my role: co-applicant and researchers.
- 2016-2020: Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (Project: Making Sense of Handwritten Illustrated Archives, lead researcher: prof. H.J. van den Herik), my roles: co-author of the proposal, researcher and member of the managing committee.
- 2018-2019: NWO KIEM: Eventscapes: Providing Spatio-Temporal Access to the Prize Papers (lead researcher: Menno-Jan Kraak, ITC Twente, other partners: Huygens-ING, Brill Publishers, Leiden), my roles: co-author of the proposal and researcher.
- 2017: Collective grant for the organization of the international symposium ‘Managing Alliances: Plant Science at Bogor Botanical Gardens, 1817-2017’. The sponsors were: Hortus Botanicus Leiden, Descartes Centre for the History and Philosophy of the Sciences in Utrecht, Leiden Asia Year, and the Royal Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and Caribbean Studies (KITLV) in Leiden.
- 2015-2016: Chemical Heritage Foundation in Philadelphia, John C. Haas Postdoctoral Fellowship (9 months).
- 2014: Travel grant to participate in the Global History of Chemistry Conference at the Chemical Heritage Foundation in Philadelphia.
- 2012-2015: Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (Project: Chemistry in Everyday Life, lead researcher: prof. L.L. Roberts)
- 2011: Writing-up fellowship by the Gratama Foundation
- 2008: Grant for the organization of a workshop by the Leiden University Fund
- 2008: Travel grant for the Three Societies Meeting in Oxford by the Leiden University Fund
- 2007-2010: Full PhD fellowship by the German National Academic Foundation
- 2004-2006: Full student scholarship by the German National Academic Foundation
- 2004: Stipend for the acquisition of books by Oskar-Karl-Forster Foundation (University of Bamberg)
Editorial boards:
- 2018- now: Associate editor of the international journal Itinerario. Journal of Imperial and Global Interactions
- 2017- now: Editor of the book series Emergence of Natural History (ENH).
Board memberships and scientific advisory committees:
- 2021 – now: Scientific advisory committee (Wissenschaftlicher Beirat) of Deutsches Schifffahrtsmuseum Bremerhaven
- 2018-now: Linschoten-Vereeniging, Member of the board
- 2012-2018: History of Chemistry Groep (CHG) of the Royal Netherlands Chemical Society (KNCV).
Reviewing activities:
As a service to the profession, I am regularly reviewing journal articles (e.g. Journal of Global History, Isis, Notes and Records. The Royal Society Journal of the History of Science, Early Modern Low Countries (EMLC), Entertainment Computing, Blumea – Biodiversity, Evolution, and Biogeography of Plants, Endeavour, Neerlandica Wratislaviensia, BMGN – Low Countries Historical Review, Arcadia – Explorations in Environmental History, History of Science), book proposals for national and international publishers (e.g. Palgrave Macmillan, Leiden University Press, Linschoten-Vereeniging), research proposals for different funding bodies (e.g. National Science Foundation, NSF) and contributions to peer-reviewed international conferences (e.g. Digital Humanities conference 2018, Mexico City, and 2019, Utrecht).
Networks
I am participating in the following international networks:
Andreas Weber 