Exploring the science/technology interface

Today, the traditional distinction between science and technology—between the creation of knowledge about the natural world and the production of material objects—still plays an important role in how we understand the research process. However, in practice, the line between scientific research and technological innovation in contemporary universities has become increasingly blurred, with researchers often moving back and forth between the roles of scientist, engineer, and entrepreneur. In this talk, I will show how the history of science and technology of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries can help contextualize the current relations between science and technology, and help inform how the distinction between science and technology emerged. To do so, I will explore four important themes at the science/technology interface: technical drawing; patents and intellectual property; scientific instruments; and public participation in research.
 
Jérôme Baudry is a lecturer and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Geneva, where he is working with Prof. Bruno J. Strasser on his ERC/SNSF project “The Rise of Citizen Science. Rethinking Science and Public Participation.” He received his Ph.D. in the history of science and technology from École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales and Harvard University in 2015. He is currently preparing a book on the relations between science, technology, and the invention of intellectual property in the United States and in France.