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Will Thomas

@williamthomas.bsky.social
1.4K followers 227 following 741 posts

Director of Research in History, Policy, and Culture at the American Institute of Physics. Author of Rational Action: The Sciences of Policy in Britain and America, 1940-1960. Views expressed are my own.

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Will Thomas @williamthomas.bsky.social · 13h
Ooh, @rebeccacharbon.bsky.social has been working on the history of the dead pulsar planets that were also the (weirdly neglected) first-discovered exoplanets. The pulsar and planets have been given the very Halloween-y names Lich, Draugr, Poltergeist, and Phobetor.
aip.org
New oral histories: The discovery of the first exoplanets
AIP History Weekly Edition: May 29, 2026
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Randall Munroe @xkcd.com · 13h
Accelerator Energies xkcd.com/3306/
Comic. [Chart with track length on x axis: 10cm, 1m, 10m, 100m, 1km, 10km, 100km; collision energy on y axis: 1eV, 1keV, 1MeV, 1GeV, 1TeV, 1PeV, 10^18eV, 10^21eV, 10^24eV, 10^27eV. Scatterplot increases in a mostly linear shape with points for first cyclotrons, ADA, cosmotron, bevatron, BEPC-II, J-PARC, CEBAF, RHIC, tevatron, large Hadron Collider. An outlier near the top of the chart is Daytona Speedway.]
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Physics Today @physicstoday.aip.org · 02/10/2026
The postwar funding boom in US physics came to a halt at the end of the 1960s, when officials in the Nixon administration made major cuts to the federal science budget. As historian Julia Menzel of @ihpst-uoft.bsky.social notes, the lessons learned then may be helpful to today’s scientists. #histSTM
physicstoday.aip.org
The last crisis of US physics
At the end of the turbulent 1960s, the postwar funding boom in US physics came to a crashing halt. The lessons learned then may be helpful to today’s physicists.
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Tim Clancy @viewfromarchstreet.com · 02/10/2026
The National Science Foundation has withheld $1.4 billion in research funds appropriated by Congress during Fiscal Year 2026. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/02/u...
nytimes.com
National Science Foundation Diverted $1.4 Billion in Science Funds Mandated by Congress (Gift Article)
The move, affecting about one-fifth of the National Science Foundation’s primary research budget, is the latest sign of how the White House is asserting more control over grants.
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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
History Dept @ University of Texas Austin invites applications for a TT assistant professor, specializing in modern history of science, technology, & medicine. Committee will consider applicants who specialize in any scientific practice in any part of the world since 1600. Deadline Nov 30 #HPS
networks.h-net.org
The University of Texas at Austin - Assistant Professor (TT) – History of Science, Technology, and Medicine | H-Net
Preferred qualifications include research and teaching records that will complement one or more of the department’s strengths including: African History, Asian History, British History, Digital Humanities, Latin American History, U.S. History, and related fields.
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Will Thomas @williamthomas.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Congratulations to my colleague Rebecca Charbonneau @rebeccacharbon.bsky.social on winning the 2027 Osterbrock Prize from the American Astronomical Society's Historical Astronomy Division! aas.org/posts/news/2...
Author photo of Rebecca Charbonneau and the cover of her book Mixed Signals: Alien Communication across the Iron Curtain.
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Will Thomas @williamthomas.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
In today's AIP History Weekly Edition, we look at a new volume on the long history of efforts to measure the effects of general relativity. It showcases extraordinary efforts to secure high-precision measurements and adds to our understanding of GR's acceptance, neglect, and renaissance. #HPS
aip.org
Book spotlight: Testing Einstein
AIP History Weekly Edition: October 2, 2026
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Will Thomas @williamthomas.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The video is now available from Fara Dabhoiwala's lecture at AIP last week—an account of a Jamaican prodigy, his failed nomination to the Royal Society, and the only known depiction of the first return of Halley's comet. A story almost lost to history recovered from clues hidden in a small painting!
youtube.com
“Black Genius: Race, Science, and the Extraordinary Portrait of Francis Williams”
YouTube video by AIP History
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ertruitt.bsky.social @ertruitt.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Unboxing day! Over a decade in the making, NECESSARY INVENTIONS: ROGER BACON, THE MIDDLE AGES, AND THE MAKING OF MODERN SCIENCE (PENN Press) is a material object. Thank you to everyone who helped along the way. For sale on October 20. @pennpress.bsky.social
Photo of a box filled with multiple copies of the book. The cover is ochre, and has different images of Bacon, from manuscripts and printed books.
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H-Net Job Guide @h-net-job-guide.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
New job: Tenure-Track Assistant Professor of the History of Science and Technology University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill jobs.h-net.org/jobs/70470
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Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 25/09/2026
This week, we published the first paper in the U.S. Climate Collection titled, "Research Priorities for Robust Climate Assessments in the United States". The paper was led by Melissa Kenney, @bobkopp.net, & me, with 175 authors helping outline climate risks. cee.engineering.cmu.edu/news/2026/09...
cee.engineering.cmu.edu
CMU faculty helps lead new efforts on climate assessment research
CMU faculty helps lead new efforts on climate assessment research - Civil and Environmental Engineering
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Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 25/09/2026
Melissa Kenney, @bobkopp.net, and I are also among the lead organizers of the U.S. Climate Collection, an initiative of the American Geophysical Union and the @ametsoc.org to catalyze assessment science that advances U.S.-focused climate change research. usclimatecollection.org
usclimatecollection.org
U.S. Climate Collection | AGU and AMS
An initiative of the American Geophysical Union and the American Meteorological Society. The new “U.S. Climate Collection” will host research and analysis, including work that would have contributed t...
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Will Thomas @williamthomas.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
In today's AIP History Weekly Edition, Jon Phillips @jowiph.bsky.social looks at a new article by Alex Blum and Arnab Rai Choudhuri presenting the early history of magnetohydrodynamics. Theorists struggled for years to get a grip on MHD theory before it became the go-to tool for explaining the Sun.
aip.org
Article spotlight: Blum and Choudhuri on magnetohydrodynamics
AIP History Weekly Edition: September 25, 2026
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Will Thomas @williamthomas.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The University of Vienna is hosting a lecture series this fall and winter on the "History and Foundations of Modern Physics." Christoph Lehner will kick things off by discussing Schrödinger’s equation on Oct. 1. Click through to learn more, including how to watch online. #HPS
dakic.univie.ac.at
History and Foundations of Modern Physics
The lecure series examines the historical and conceptual development of modern physics, focusing on the debates, discoveries, and ideas that shaped major breakthroughs. Topics include relativity, cosm...
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Will Thomas @williamthomas.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I feel like we don't talk enough about how Mark Zuckerberg lit the equivalent of nine years' worth of NSF's entire budget on fire failing to reinvent Second Life.
bloomberg.com
Meta Debuts Dedicated ‘Charm’ Device for Using Muse AI
Meta Platforms Inc. unveiled a palm-sized, dedicated gadget for using Muse, the company’s popular new artificial intelligence assistant, pushing deeper into the AI devices market with a surprise annou...
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Will Thomas @williamthomas.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Was just having a conversation with a non-historian co-worker. Me, interpreting a document: Well, you know, document interpretation is why they pay us historians the big bucks. Them: How do historians interpret documents? Me: Context.
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Lynette Reid @lynettereid.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
If you're not in London and free this evening you can watch a video from the LRB about this amazing story. (I had no idea Hume was such a racist☹️.) I'll put that link in a comment.
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Will Thomas @williamthomas.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
"Constructing Midichlorians: The Demystification of Jedi Power/Knowledge" ... or maybe "Trade Route Taxation and the Economic Causes of the Collapse of the Old Republic"
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Will Thomas @williamthomas.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
OK gang, it's Fat Bear Week again. Get out there and vote!
explore.org
Fat Bear Week 2026 - Explore.org
Explore.org is the world's leading philanthropic live nature cam network and documentary film channel. Our mission is to champion the selfless acts of others, create a portal into the soul of humanity...
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Will Thomas @williamthomas.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Definitely a credible cover, having a "Society of Young Women Scientist and Engineers" donate $150k to a PAC.
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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
If it were possible, I'd actually go to this, and would doubtless learn a lot. This is a fabulous panel.
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Dr. Sarah Milkovich @milkysa.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Curator of Griffith Observatory job posting! www.governmentjobs.com/jobs/5481469...
governmentjobs.com
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AIP Niels Bohr Library & Archives @history.aip.org · 02/09/2026
NBLA has been the longtime holders of photographs from physicist Hertha Sponer’s album from Göttingen. Thanks to a recent project, it is now properly situated as Sponer's, not Franck's collection. www.aip.org/library/ex-libris-unive…
aip.org
Hertha Sponer at Göttingen
September Photos of the Month
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Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
And here's a plot of workforce changes relative to 2024.
Plot of workforce change relative to 2024
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Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Here's an updated version of that chart. (Includes latest numbers from 2026, USGS, and the comparison is vs. 2015–2024 avg.)
Plot of science agency workforces. Peaks in '24 and declines in '25 and '26.
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Niall Roe @niallroe.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
C. S. Peirce, echoing recent comments by Terrence Tao and other mathematicians on the use of AI to solve Navier-Stokes (except Peirce is writing in 1903):
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Matthew L. Jones @nescioquid.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Amazing postdoc opportunity in history of modern mathematics at IAS surrounded by excellent mathematicians, historians of science, and STS scholars. www.math.ias.edu/~akshay/hist...
math.ias.edu
Postdoctoral Scholar, History of Modern Mathematics | Institute for Advanced Study
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Will Thomas @williamthomas.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
This is basically what my mind is picturing here.
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Will Thomas @williamthomas.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
In today's AIP History Weekly Edition, AIP grant recipient James Lockridge offers a look at the history behind photos he is currently digitizing at NSF NOIRLab in Arizona. This program is an unusual example of a ground-based observatory venturing into rocket-based space research.
aip.org
The Kitt Peak National Observatory rocket program, 1959–1973
AIP History Weekly Edition: September 18, 2026
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Will Thomas @williamthomas.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
The fun thing about AI discourse is that the risks associated with it variously involve it working (threats to jobs), working inappropriately (cybersecurity threats), not working (overinvestment in janky tools no one wants), and impairing people's judgment regardless of whether it works.
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David C. Brock @dcbrock.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
There is an open curator position here at the Computer History Museum! computerhistory.org/jobs/curator/
computerhistory.org
Curator
Details Classification: Exempt, Regular, Fulltime Location: Mountain View, CA The Computer History Museum (CHM) is the world’s leading institution exploring the history and ongoing impact of computing...
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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Now also a paid part-time *graduate student* internship @ Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics working on American Women's History Museum project to make scientific work of 19th-& early 20th-century women more findable & accessible Deadline: October 5, 2026 #HPS www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=a...
indeed.com
Graduate Student Research Intern | History of Women in Science - Cambridge, MA 02138 - Indeed.com
Apply for the Graduate Student Research Intern | History of Women in Science job in Cambridge, MA! Learn more about the job description, salary, and job details to see if you qualify on Indeed today.
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Sara Pritchard @sarabpritchard.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
It's Here 🥲
Cover of my new book, Transforming Night
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Jim Weatherall @jamesowenweatherall.com · 16/09/2026
Just launched! LPS is running a new certificate program on Science for Policy and the Public. It's an introduction to modern philosophy of science aimed at people who communicate about and advise on science. Check it out! ce.uci.edu/programs/soc... #philsci #philsky #academicsky
ce.uci.edu
Science for Policy and the Public | UC Irvine DCE
The Science for Policy and the Public Certificate is an interdisciplinary certificate program designed to provide learners with foundational knowledge in...
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IHPST | University of Toronto @ihpst-uoft.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Postdoctoral Fellow Julia Menzel was featured in Scientific American, discussing historical parallels between today’s pressures on U.S. science and the Nixon era. Her research offers important lessons for understanding challenges facing researchers today 🔗 www.scientificamerican.com/article/scie...
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Will Thomas @williamthomas.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The American Institute of Physics history program now has a reorganized website. Whether you know nothing, a little, or a lot about our work, take a look around and see if you find anything new to you! www.aip.org/history
Screenshot of the top portion of the AIP history website, showing a feature of a history guide on Bell Labs, introductory text, and the most recent weekly/monthly email newsletters.
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Modern American History @modamhist.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Teasel Muir-Harmony contextualizes the 1976 bicentennial logo—the “fat star”—amid Cold War public diplomacy, corporate branding, and federal arts policy. While the logo was designed to mend the nation fractured by the Vietnam War, it in fact further exposed those very fractures. Link Below.
The United States bicentennial logo designed by Bruce Blackburn, Chermayeff & Geismar Associates Inc.
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The HPS Podcast @hpspodcast.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
"But on the night sky, it's like seeing an atom held at arm's length..." This week on the podcast, Peter Galison joins Sophie Ritson to discuss what it took to make the first image of the black hole — and what it means to say we saw it. linktr.ee/thehpspodcast
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Grant Witness @grantwitness.org · 11/09/2026
Glad to work with @aip.bsky.social to highlight the dramatic loss of support for physics from NSF this year. Dig into the numbers at grantwitness.org/nsf 🧪
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The University of Chicago Press @uchicagopress.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
M. X. Mitchell, author of UNSETTLING SOVEREIGNTIES, interviews Benetick Kabua Maddison about the ongoing impact of aboveground US nuclear weapons testing in the Marshall Islands. Read at @physicstoday.aip.org. buff.ly/eLaoW83
physicstoday.aip.org
The 80-year nuclear legacy in the Marshall Islands
An interview with a prominent member of the Marshallese diaspora delves into the ongoing impact of aboveground US nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific archipelago.
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Will Thomas @williamthomas.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
In today's AIP History Weekly Edition, I follow up on an earlier look at Sveinn Jóhannesson's new book on the influence of French military science in US history, asking him about how he landed on this subject and how the history of the state led him into the history of science & technology. #HPS
aip.org
Q&A: Sveinn Jóhannesson and the antebellum "scientific-military state"
AIP History Weekly Edition: September 11, 2026
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Will Thomas @williamthomas.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Good to see the NIST reactor is back up for research operations. The US has been missing a large percentage of its neutron scattering capacity following a reactor refueling mishap in February 2021.
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undercoverhist.bsky.social @undercoverhist.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
1/x Aurélien Saïdi and I wrote a history of the 3-equation New Keynesian model, starting from an unusual angle: documenting the intertwining of research, pedagogical and policy goals in the development of a model Open access link to advance publication: read.dukeupress.edu/hope/article...
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Will Thomas @williamthomas.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
DC friends, AIP's next Trimble lecture is coming up on Wed., Sept. 23, when Princeton University's Fara Dabhoiwala presents "Black Genius: Race, Science, and the Extraordinary Portrait of Francis Williams." Learn more and register to attend today: www.aip.org/history/fara... 📷V&A Museum, London
A section of a painting depicting a black man in the dress of an 18th century gentleman with a white wig, with shelves of books and a window looking out on a Jamaican landscape and a cloudy night sky behind him.
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Will Thomas @williamthomas.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
It turns out the real mathematical proof was the friends we made along the way
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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
I knew that some folks will not be delighted by this review of Graham Farmelo's new biography of Hawking, but so be it. The book itself is good - as I say, Farmelo lets people's words speak for themselves, and many are quite damning. www.theguardian.com/books/2026/s...
theguardian.com
Hawking by Graham Farmelo review – the dark side of genius
A biography of the physicist recognises his achievements, but also reveals the selfish narcissist underneath
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Gareth Funning @gfun.earth · 05/09/2026
This is all awesome, not least because one of the interviewees is Emily Brodsky (pictured), and the last conversation I had with her was at about 2 am on Monday night, staggering back after the SCEC karaoke, on whether she would sing next year (unlikely) and what (maybe Bob Dylan, still unlikely).
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Will Thomas @williamthomas.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Thank you! I'll pass them along to her. And thanks for giving a much better description of the interviews than my Hobbit joke! I do really like that photo that Emily Brodsky sent us.
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Eileen Clancy 🧿 @clancyny.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
There are 4 (sort of) teasers about these women – to be specific, a geophysicist, a nuclear physicist, an experimental high energy physicist, and a physical scientist at NOAA. They are all super interesting. But if you click on their names, you jump to oral histories which are fascinating!
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Will Thomas @williamthomas.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
In today's AIP History Weekly Edition, Anna Doel looks at the variety of ways that recent oral history interviewees found their way into careers in the physical sciences. (Contra the photo, none of them through finding the secret door by the last light of Durin's Day.) #WomeninSTEM
aip.org
New oral histories: Women’s experiences in moving into science
AIP History Weekly Edition: September 4, 2026
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