About Us - Scientific Instrument Commission

Scientific Instrument Commission

About Us

What is SIC?

The Scientific Instrument Commission is a constituent organisation of the International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science (IUHPS). It seeks to encourage scholarly research on the history of scientific instruments, and the preservation and documentation of collections of instruments, as well as their use within the wider discipline of the history of science. So as to promote interest in the history of instruments, to encourage discussion and to advance scholarship, annual symposia are held in different parts of the world, usually where there are important collections of instruments or centres of research and teaching. When appropriate, the proceedings of these symposia have been published. Once every four years the annual symposium forms part of the Congress of the IUHPS. The Commission also publishes an annual newsletter and maintains a cumulative bibliography database, and occasionally sponsors workshops on specialist themes.

Note about our new logo: During the plenary meeting held in September 2007 in Harvard, this logo was chosen among several proposals freely submitted by members and friends of the Commission. The creator of the selected logo is the artist and designer Valentino Szemere working in Lugano (Switzerland). (http://www.apaxcreativi.ch/)