Announcements

Jasanoff to Receive SSRC’s Hirschman Award

September 5, 2018 2131
Sheila Sen Jasanoff
Sheila Sen Jasanoff

Sheila Sen Jasanoff, the founder and director of Harvard University’s Program on Science, Technology and Society, will receive the Social Science Research Council’s highest honor, the Albert O. Hirschman Prize, and deliver the Hirschman lecture on November 30.

The biennial Hirschman Prize, named for the renowned political economist, is awarded to scholars who have made outstanding contributions to international, interdisciplinary social science research, theory, and public communication.

Jasanoff is Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard , where she also holds appointments at Harvard Law School and in the Department of the History of Science. An internationally acclaimed scholar of science and public policy, Jasanoff is a linguist, legal scholar, political theorist, and social analyst. Before coming to Harvard, she was the founding chair of the Department of Science and Technology Studies at Cornell University, ushering in a new interdisciplinary field in the U.S. academy.

The nominating committee for this year’s prize, composed of SSRC Board member Teresa Caldeira of the University of California at Berkeley, SSRC Board member Naomi Lamoreaux of Yale University, and Andrew D. Martin of the University of Michigan, described Jasanoff as an “intellectual whose interdisciplinary work has charted new territory and established the grounds for a new field inside the social sciences.” As Caldeira said:

“Sheila Jasanoff’s work, like Albert O. Hirschman’s, crosses disciplinary boundaries and shares a deep concern with democracy and public policy. A pioneer in the field of science and technology studies, Jasanoff focuses on the construction of public reason in contemporary democracies and asks hard questions about the role of science and technology in law, politics, and policy. Like Hirschman, Jasanoff combines research with a commitment to change the world and to innovative theory making based on illustrations provided by observation and carefully researched empirical studies.”

Jasanoff is the author or editor of more than 15 books and the author of over 120 academic articles. Her pioneering scholarship has examined how nations, courts of law, legislators, policymakers, and advocates address such issues as climate change, emergent biotechnologies, global innovation, and risk. The reach of Jasanoff’s work extends beyond the academy to national and international science policy organizations and regulatory bodies; she has advised the European Commission, the OECD, the National Science Foundation, and the National Academy of Sciences, among others, on issues of science policy.

Jasanoff holds AB, JD, and PhD degrees from Harvard University. She has received many national and international honors for her research, including the University of Ghent Sarton Chair and the Reimar Lüst Award from the Alexander von Humboldt and Fritz Thyssen Foundations. She received a Guggenheim fellowship in 2010. She is an elected foreign member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, where she served on the board of directors.

“Illuminating the pathways between law, science, and policy in modern democracies has been Jasanoff’s life’s work,” said SSRC President Alondra Nelson. “She is an intellectual leader who has made singular contributions to building the empirical groundwork for a new field, and also to cultivating its theoretical and institutional frameworks. Jasanoff’s trajectory demonstrates the intellectual innovation, interdisciplinary breadth, and public engagement that was characteristic of Albert Hirschman’s work and to which we aspire at the SSRC.”

The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) is an independent, international, nonprofit organization founded in 1923. It fosters innovative research, nurtures new generations of social scientists, deepens how inquiry is practiced within and across disciplines, and mobilizes necessary knowledge on important public issues. The Council collaborates with practitioners, policymakers, and academic researchers in the social sciences, related professions, and with colleagues in the humanities and natural sciences. We build interdisciplinary and international networks, work with partners around the world to link research to practice and policy, strengthen individual and institutional capacities for learning, and enhance public access to social knowledge.

View all posts by Social Science Research Council

Related Articles

Alondra Nelson Named to U.S. National Science Board
Announcements
October 18, 2024

Alondra Nelson Named to U.S. National Science Board

Read Now
Viewing 2024 Economics Nobel Through Lens of Colonialism’s Impact on Institutions
Recognition
October 15, 2024

Viewing 2024 Economics Nobel Through Lens of Colonialism’s Impact on Institutions

Read Now
Where Did We Get the Phrase ‘Publish or Perish’?
Communication
August 14, 2024

Where Did We Get the Phrase ‘Publish or Perish’?

Read Now
A Milestone Dataset on the Road to Self-Driving Cars Proves Highly Popular
Impact
June 27, 2024

A Milestone Dataset on the Road to Self-Driving Cars Proves Highly Popular

Read Now
Felice Levine to Leave AERA in 2025

Felice Levine to Leave AERA in 2025

Social psychologist Felice Levine, who has served as executive director of the American Educational Research Association for more than 22 years, will step down in 2025.

Read Now
Karine Morin Takes Helm of Canada’s Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences

Karine Morin Takes Helm of Canada’s Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences

Karine Morin, whose experience in the policy world spans health and health research, the physical sciences and equity, diversity, and inclusion, has been named the new president and CEO of Canada’s Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences

Read Now
Nominations Open for 2025 Sage-CASBS Award

Nominations Open for 2025 Sage-CASBS Award

The award recognizes achievement in the social and behavioral sciences that advances understanding of pressing social issues. Deadline: September 16, 2024.

Read Now
0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

0 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments