Travel grants to attend the XXIII International Congress of History of Science and for ongoing U.S. participation in the IUHPS

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Introduction: The PI requests funds on behalf of HSS (the History of Science Society), of which he is the Executive Director, to underwrite the cost of twenty-five graduate students, independent scholars, and junior scholars who are US nationals to attend the 23rd International Congress of History of Science in Budapest, Hungary, in July 2009; the Congress is sponsored by IUHPS (the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science). The travel funds will facilitate their attendance at the meeting to participate in sessions, meet overseas colleagues, and lay the foundation for new research collaborations and scholarly activities. Modest funds are also requested to continue membership in IUHPS on behalf of the four principal US-based societies that sponsor and support science studies: the History of Science Society, the Philosophy of Science Association, the Society for the History of Technology, and the Society for Social Studies of Science.Intellectual Merit: The Congress is hosted by IUHPS, one of the most significant vehicles for fostering international opportunities and exchanges in the field. While meetings of HSS and closely related organizations do attract foreign scholars, the international congresses bring together a far wider range of scholars from widely dispersed geographic regions and diverse intellectual approaches. Moreover, the Congress tends to emphasize fields, including the history of geography, that are less frequently addressed in North American meetings involving the history of science. NSF has supported travel to the International Congress for many years, and regards such funds as critical for ensuring that US-based scholars most in need of support to have the opportunity to engage with the international community of historians of science. The dues payment serves to facilitate the participation of consortium members at the Congress meetings.Broader Impact: The intellectual merit and broader impacts of this proposal are intimately connected, since the relevant activities focus on fostering intellectual collaboration and exchange in the area of science studies in an attempt to enrich and diversify the field both globally and in the United States. In addition, the travel grants for graduate students, junior faculty and independent scholars, is an investment in the future of science studies in the United States.