During this week's APS Member Meeting, we are pleased to award the Honorable Guido Calabresi with the 2025 Henry M. Phillips Prize. This prize recognizes outstanding lifetime contributions to the field of jurisprudence.
Learn more about Judge Calabresi and his award here: https://bit.ly/4dVAuc1
During this Meeting, we're pleased to award Robert D. Putnam, political scientist, author, and Harvard professor of public policy, the Congressionally authorized Thomas Jefferson Medal.
Learn more about Putnam and the Jefferson Medal here: https://bit.ly/4tUyaqu
Do history and literature really provide "useful knowledge" in our fast-paced world? In this Week’s Meeting Monday, literary critic R. Howard Bloch discusses "Good Uses of the Humanities in Bad Times," or the irreplaceable lessons we can learn from the humanities.
Full talk: https://bit.ly/4vyMYfI
APS alumni are spreading “useful knowledge” ahead of America's 250th. Learn “What ‘America’ meant before 1776, and who ‘Americans’ are today” from Dr. Surekha Davies, British historian and 2015 Franklin Research Grant Recipient, in the LA Times. @drsurekhadavies.bsky.social
https://lat.ms/4teCn8r
Congratulations to poet Natasha Trethewey who has been named the 2026 recipient of the Stone Award for Literary Achievement by Oregon State University! Trethewey will share an evening of poetry at OSU on May 8.
More info about Trethewey’s honor and evening of poetry here: https://bit.ly/4ejebNo
Dave Gary, Associate Director of Collections and curator of APS Museum exhibition "These Truths: The Declarations of Independence," was featured on Fox 29's Good Day Philly! Watch the segment for a walkthrough of "These Truths" and more.
Full video via Fox 29: https://bit.ly/4tMDUCl
“Nature is silent only to those who know not how to interrogate her—to the man of inquisitive mind she offers ample instruction.”
Check back weekly for APS Members' words of wisdom.
Episode 6 of Useful Knowledge is live! Tune in on Apple Podcasts or Spotify to hear from Michael Marletta, biochemist, UC Berkeley professor, and APS Member, about how he was inspired to become a scientist and his thoughts about the exciting field of biochemistry.
More info: https://bit.ly/4mzbBoQ
In this week's blog post by Fleur van der Woude, APS Assistant Paper Conservator, learn how our team analyzed the stability of Thomas Jefferson’s handwritten draft of the Declaration of Independence for this year’s APS Museum exhibition, “These Truths.” https://bit.ly/4sphc2c
Thank you to everyone who joined us last Friday for our opening of “These Truths: The Declarations of Independence.” The APS Museum saw 2,600 visitors during its opening weekend!
“These Truths” is open until January 3. Stop by from 10-5 on Thursdays through Sundays.
Tune in tomorrow to episode 6 of the Useful Knowledge podcast guest-starring biochemist Michael Marletta. Learn how he found his niche and his thoughts on the past and future of biochemistry and serendipitous scientific discovery.
Listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Our team has been planning and researching for years to make "These Truths" a reality. Now, it's open for all to see! Visit us today until 4 or from 5-7 PM for our opening reception featuring a reading by John Adams.
Can't make it today? Join us Thursdays to Sundays from 10-5.
The wait is over!
"These Truths: The Declarations of Independence" is officially open to the public! Stop by to see the exhibition from 10-4, or join us from 5-7 for our opening reception featuring a special reading with John Adams!
More info here: https://bit.ly/4jPtYUZ
During the Revolutionary War, smallpox ripped through the colonies, endangering soldiers and civilians alike. Learn more in "Smallpox in the Revolutionary City," an interactive map based on research by Ella Scalese, 2025 Martin Levitt Fellow. https://bit.ly/48niQKr
Congratulations to climate scientist Veerabhadran Ramanathan, recipient of the 2026 Crafoord Prize. Ramanathan is recognized for his work on the causes of climate change including his 1975 discovery that cholorofluorocarbons are a major contributor. @scrippsocean.bsky.social @ucsandiego.bsky.social
Join us on 4/30 for a talk with Marcia McNutt, geophysicist and National Academy of Sciences President, on “James Madison’s Contributions to Climate and Citizen Science.” This talk is part of “America’s Scientific Revolutionaries," a series funded by the Lounsbery Foundation. https://bit.ly/4bYhM21
“Liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among the people.”
Check back weekly for APS Members' words of wisdom.
Huge thanks to @amphilsociety.bsky.social and their absolutely critical support for early career researchers!
Nerds of Bluesky: did you know that the @amphilsociety.bsky.social has podcasts? Here's @joycechaplin.bsky.social talking about her latest book, on Benjamin Franklin's stove, on the Useful Knowledge podcast:
💙📚 🗃 #histsci #earlymodern #18thCentury
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
The APS is hiring! We are seeking a special project fellow to assist with research on the Society’s Thomas Jefferson Garden, located just across the street from Independence Hall. Find more information and apply here: https://bit.ly/4sjEjv6
19th century mapmakers faced a tough task in working together to create a complete map of the US. Geologist J. P. Lesley captured some of their frustrations in an 1883 letter, the topic of this blog post from Sam Wagner, 2025 Friends of the APS Fellow. https://bit.ly/4tjumOU
@swagner22.bsky.social
You know Thomas Paine as the author of Common Sense, a pamphlet that inspired Americans to fight for independence. In this Meeting Monday, learn from historian Edward G. Gray about another side of Paine—the architect who tried to unite Pennsylvanians with an iron bridge.
https://bit.ly/4cp6svS
The wait is almost over! After years of research and planning, our intrepid Museum team is installing our 2026 exhibition, “These Truths: The Declarations of Independence.” The exhibition will be ready for all to enjoy in 8 days!
Find more info here: https://bit.ly/4jPtYUZ
Congratulations to Emilly Whitted, who was named a UMass Amherst Groundbreaking Graduate Student! In 2024, Emily brought her project "Mending in Crisis: Military Textile Repair in the Revolutionary War" to the APS as a Swan Historical Foundation Short-Term fellow. @knitwhitted.bsky.social
🔬 What can we learn from cells that reproduce to live on forever? In this Lightning Talk, Allan Spradling, scientist and APS Member, discusses germ cells, the immortal reproductive cells that have fascinated him throughout his distinguished career.
@hhmi_science @carnegiescience
Congratulations to Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Annette Gordon-Reed who has been chosen to deliver a commencement speech at the Bryn Mawr College graduate commencement in May. Gordon-Reed is the author of multiple award-winning books and teaches law at Harvard University.
📚 Join us! Apply now to work with the APS Press, the nation's longest-running scholarly press. Find more information and apply here: https://bit.ly/4dkzyh0
@amphilpress.bsky.social
Since 1743, the APS has always been changing. In the mid 20th century, APS Librarian William Lingelbach led the charge to rebuild the historic Library Hall. Learn more in this week’s blog post by Susan Anderson, APS Archivist and Records Manager. https://bit.ly/4m18wh2
Who wants to live forever? In this week’s Meeting Monday, Joel Cohen (APS 1994), applied mathematician, discusses the possibilities of the human lifespan in his talk “Is a Limit to Length of Human Life Imminent?”
Watch the full November 2013 talk here: https://bit.ly/4tdpjja
In 1779, the Continental Army launched an assault on Haudenosaunee peoples in central and western New York, clearing forests and razing farmland in their path. Learn about the environmental history of the revolution in this blog post by DCAR Predoctoral Fellow Blake McGready. https://bit.ly/4bP2Eme
