The Center for Contemporary History and Policy (CCHP) at the Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) invites proposals for short-term fellowships focused on the use of the Pew Scholars in the Biomedical Sciences Oral History Collection located at the CHF. Fellows are expected to be in residence for six weeks and will use the Pew Collection to develop projects related to their own work. We welcome applications/proposals from researchers at all stages of their careers and from a diversity of fields: STS, sociology, history (of science, medicine, or technology), philosophy, and science policy. Since the goal of this Fellowship is to promote the use of this oral history collection, all Fellows will be required either to write a ten-page description of the ways in which the collection contributed to their research or to supply a copy of a book chapter or an article based upon work derived from this collection.
In 1985, the Pew Charitable Trusts established the Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences to provide four-year awards to early-career biomedical researchers of outstanding promise. Hundreds of scientists have since received funding from The Pew Trusts, and have helped to shape the course of biomedical research in the United States. Some Pew Scholars have gone on to receive prestigious awards such as the Nobel Prize and the Howard Hughes Medical Investigator award; many have started their own research centers and initiatives; and all have made significant contributions to the life sciences.
Soon after the term of the four-year award, these Pew Scholars participated in an oral history interview that covered various aspects of the Scholars’ lives: their childhood; early education; college, graduate school, and post-doc experiences; reflections on their mentors and the labs in which they worked; starting and running a lab; and broader social, cultural, economic, and political issues. This oral history collection provides a wealth of information for those interested in the contemporary history of the biomedical sciences.
These oral histories, housed in the Othmer Library at the Chemical Heritage Foundation, are being made available for research purposes. For more information about the Scholars and their science, please visit the program website which is part of the Emerging Science area of the Pew Charitable Trusts’ website. For examples of the oral histories, please visit the Chemical Heritage Foundation’s web pages devoted to the Pew Oral Histories (the pages are currently under construction and are not a reflection of the complete collection of approximately 200 Pew oral histories for the classes of 1985 through 2000, all of which can be accessed at the Othmer Library).
In order to create an atmosphere of collaboration and community, Fellows are expected tobe in residence at the Chemical Heritage Foundation for six consecutive weeks of their choosing, completing their time before the end of June 2010.
Fellows will receive access to
• working space,
• the CHF library and its tools, and
• the staff that conduct and manage the Pew Oral History Collection,
In addition, fellows will receive a $3,000 stipend to support the individual's expenses (no other financial support, e.g. travel funding, will be available).
Though the CHF cannot guarantee housing for Fellows, we do offer support in searching for appropriate accommodations.
How to Apply
To be considered for a Pew Scholar Oral History Fellowship at CHF, please send
1. A two-page cover letter that includes a description of the proposed project and how it fits within your current research activities;
2. your C.V.; and
3. for graduate students only, please arrange to have one letter of recommendation submitted on your behalf.
All materials should be submitted by 15 August 2009. Decisions will be made no later than 1 September 2009.
Please submit all materials, or direct any questions, to:
David J. Caruso, Ph.D.
Program Manager, Oral History
Chemical Heritage Foundation
315 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Tel: 215-873-8236
E-mail: dcaruso@chemheritage.org
