Sara J. Schechner (born 1957) is an American historian of science, the David P. Wheatland Curator of the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments and a lecturer on the History of Science at Harvard University.
Life Schechner earned her Bachelor of Arts in History and Science with Physics from Harvard-Radcliffe of Harvard University, graduating summa cum laude in 1979. During her time at Harvard, she was co-founder and player-coach of the ultimate frisbee team, and in 1976 the only woman on the team. Schechner then studied History and Philosophy of Science at the Emmanuel College of the Cambridge University and finished it with a Master of Philosophy in 1981. She completed her artium magister (Master of Arts) on the History of Science at the Harvard University in 1982. In 1988, she finalized her PhD on the History of Science at the Harvard University.
Afterwards, Schechner was chief curator at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. She also curated exhibits for the Smithsonian Institution, the American Astronomical Society, and the American Physical Society. In 2000, she returned to Harvard University as the David P. Wheatland Curator of the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments. She is also a lecturer on the History of Science at Harvard University.
Selected publications
Awards 2020: Elected a Legacy Fellow of the American Astronomical Society in 2020. 2019: Paul Bunge Prize of the Society of German Chemists 2018: LeRoy E. Doggett Prize, American Astronomical Society 2018: Second Place, Telescopes-Mechanical/Other, Stellafane Convention, for a quilt, “This is Stellafane!” 2018. 2014: Great Exhibitions Prize for Body of Knowledge:A History of Anatomy (in 3 Parts), British Society for the History of Science 2014: Dean's Impact Award, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University 2010: The Paul and Irene Hollister Lecturer on Glass, 2010. 2009: First Place, Telescopes-Mechanical/Special, Stellafane Convention, for a historical quilt,“The Great 26-Inch Telescope at Foggy Bottom,” 2008: Joseph H. Hazen Education Prize. 2007: First Place, International Design Awards 2007, for Time, Life, & Matter 2004: Helen Sawyer Hogg Public Lecturer, Royal Astronomical Society of Canada 1991–1992: Herbert C. Pollock Award From 1982: New York Academy of Sciences From 1979: Sigma Xi 1979: Sigma Xi Prize, Harvard 1979: Phi Beta Kappa, Harvard
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