Pnina Abir-Am
Pnina Geraldine Abir-Am | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1947 |
| Occupation | Historian of science |
| Years active | 1973–present |
| Known for | History of molecular biology; participation of women in STEM fields |
Pnina Geraldine Abir-Am (; born 1947) is a historian of science with Israeli-American nationality, focusing on molecular biology and the participation of women in STEM fields. Her education spans institutions in Israel, Canada, and the United Kingdom, and she has held scholarly and research roles throughout Israel, Canada, and the United States. Since 2007, she has been connected to Brandeis University.
Education and career
Abir-Am possesses citizenship in both Israel and the United States. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in chemistry, complemented by a minor in biology, from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1971. She then attained a master's degree with highest honors (summa cum laude) in history and philosophy of science in 1975, concentrating on the elucidation of DNA’s structure. Her doctoral studies were completed at the Université de Montréal in 1984, following a year as a visiting scholar at the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine at the University of London. Her dissertation, guided by Camille Limoges, explored the early development of molecular biology in England during 1932–1938.
Her professional academic experience includes positions as lecturer at Hebrew University during 1973–75, 1982–83, and 1996–97; a visiting associate professorship at Johns Hopkins University between 1991 and 1993; and serving as co-chair for Women's Studies at the University of Ottawa/Carleton University in 1996–97. She was affiliated as a research associate with Boston University’s Center for History and Philosophy of Science and held a Resident Fellowship at MIT’s Dibner Institute for the History of Science and Technology during 1995–96. Additional appointments include a Beckman Center Fellowship at the Science History Institute (1996–97) and being Oregon State University libraries’ inaugural Resident Scholar (2012–13). Since 2007, she has been engaged as a scholar within Brandeis University's Women's Studies Research Center.
Recognition
In 1988, Abir-Am received the Margaret W. Rossiter History of Women in Science Prize for her contribution on Dorothy Maud Wrinch featured in Uneasy Careers and Intimate Lives. More recently, in 2023, she was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Selected publications
Notable articles authored by Abir-Am include:
- "The discourse of physical power and biological knowledge in the 1930s: a reappraisal of the Rockefeller Foundation's 'policy' in molecular biology" (1982)
- "Themes, genres and orders of legitimation in consolidating new scientific disciplines: deconstructing molecular biology historiography" (1985)
- "The Biotheoretical Gathering and legitimation of molecular biology in the 1930s" (1987)
- "The politics of macromolecules: molecular biologists, biochemists, and rhetoric" (1992)
Among her edited collections are:
- Uneasy Careers and Intimate Lives: Women in Science, 1789–1979 (1987)
- Creative Couples in the Sciences (1996)