Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Origins of a Historical Understanding of the Universe

该奖项支持博士论文研究，探讨现代宇宙学在十九世纪天文学史上的出现。co-PI（博士论文研究员）的目标是提供一个宇宙是如何理解在西方知识网络和流行文化在这一时期的帐户。在追求这一目标的过程中，合作PI将研究宇宙学的发展是一个跨学科的过程，强烈影响了19世纪的科学和社会。这一转变的发展和社会影响将通过在美国，英国和法国的手稿档案的研究进行探讨。智力MeritThe现代宇宙学的出现仍然是未经探索和显着研究不足。在解决这一差距的同时，共同PI将阐明浪漫主义哲学，公共文化和对宇宙的历史理解的发展之间的关系。他还将揭示19世纪天文学、地质学和生命科学之间重要的方法论相互作用;例如，它们有着相似的问题，并发展出相似的认识论解决方案。联合PI非常适合参与该研究项目。PI（共同PI的导师）带来了19世纪生命科学史的专业知识。合作伙伴的资历包括天文学和天体物理学学士学位，博士论文委员会包括天体物理学家和科学历史学家。更广泛的影响除了在期刊文章和专业会议上展示这项研究的结果外，合作伙伴希望将材料开发成本科课程，并将研究作为一本书出版，以一种易于理解的风格撰写，对公众和学术界都是如此。

Project OverviewThis award supports doctoral dissertation research that explores the emergence of modern cosmology in the history of nineteenth century astronomy. The goal of the co-PI (the doctoral dissertation researcher) is to provide an account of how the universe was understood in western intellectual networks and popular culture during that period. In pursuing that goal, the co-PI will examine the ways in which the development of cosmology was an interdisciplinary process that strongly influenced nineteenth-century science and society. The development and social impact of this transformation will be explored through research in manuscript archives in the US, UK, and France.Intellectual MeritThe emergence of modern cosmology remains unexplored and significantly under-researched. While addressing this gap, the co-PI will illuminate the relationship between Romantic philosophy, public culture, and the development of a historical understanding of the universe. He will also reveal significant methodological interplay between nineteenth-century astronomy, geology, and life sciences; for example, that they share similar problems and develop similar epistemological solutions. The co-PI is well positioned to engage in this research project. The PI (the co-PI's mentor) brings expertise in the history of nineteenth-century life sciences. The co-PI's credentials include a bachelor's degree in astronomy and astrophysics, and the doctoral dissertation committee includes an astrophysicist and historians of science.Broader Impacts In addition to presenting the results of this research in journal articles and at professional meetings, the co-PI hopes to develop the material into an undergraduate course and to publish the research as a book, written in an accessible style, for the general public and academics alike.