Awards, Prizes and Grants
Updated 14 October 2025
- 2025 Leonardo da Vinci Medal:
The Leonardo da Vinci Medal is the highest recognition from SHOT. It is presented to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the history of technology, through research, teaching, publications, service to the Society, and other activities. SHOT is extremely pleased to announce that the 2025 recipient of the Leonardo da Vinci Medal is: John Krige, the Melvin Kranzberg Professor emeritus, Georgia Institute of Technology.
- 2025 Robinson Prize: The Joan Cahalin Robinson Prize is awarded annually for the best-presented paper by an individual delivering their first paper at the SHOT annual meeting. The 2025 Robinson Prize is awarded to: Jakob Henningsson (KTH Royal Institute of Technology): Will the Engineer Manage? The Early Years of Industrial Economy Education in Stockholm, 1911—1945.
- 2025 Mevin Kranzberg Fellowships: The Melvin Kranzberg Dissertation Fellowship is presented annually to a doctoral student engaged in the preparation of a dissertation on the history of technology, broadly defined. This award is in memory of the co-founder of the Society and honors Melvin Kranzberg’s many contributions to developing the history of technology as a field of scholarly endeavor and SHOT as a professional organization. This year we had a very large number of applications of exceptional quality. The Kranzberg Committee in response proposed awarding two fellowships. The endowment which supports this fellowship, normally can support only a single award but with support of an anonymous gift (in memory of Marie Bashara) SHOT is able to support two awards this year.
- Karolina Partyga, Columbia University for her dissertation project titled: “Starting from Scrap. Material politics of Polish reconstruction and the industrial remaking of East Central Europe, 1944-1950.”
- Thomas McLamb, University of California, San Diego for his dissertation project titled: “The Ksara Observatory: Technology, the Observatory Sciences, and Private Property in Syria and Lebanon under French Mandate.”
- The 2025 Brooke Hindle Postdoctoral Fellowship is awarded to Cecilia Passanti, Centre Population et Développement, Institut de recherche pour le développement, Université Paris Cité for her project “How Biometrics Became a Technology for Civilians (1950-1990): Notes on the Postcolonial History of the Biometric Industry.”
- The first SIGCIS Dissertation Fellowship in memory of Melvin Kranzberg has been awarded to Jeffrey Rubel, New York University for his dissertation project “The Dating Trade: A History of Technology-Mediated Dating in America.”
- It is now possible to submit books for the Sally Hacker Prize, the Edelstein Prize, and the Eugene S. Fergson Prize The deadline for submissions is 31 October.
- It is not possible anymore to submit nominations for the Leonardo da Vinci Medal, the Melvin Kranzberg Dissertation Fellowship, the Joan Cahalin Robinson Prize, the Samuel Eleazar and Rose Tartakow Prize, the Bernard S. Finn IEEE History Prize, the Martha Trescott Prize, and the Race and Histories of Technologies Prize.
- Unfortunately the Fellowships in Aerospace History will not be offered this year.
- The Dibner Award for Excellence in Museum Exhibits will not be awarded this year.
- Find the 2024 Award and Fellowshipwinners here.
- Download the 2024 Award Booklet here.
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Each year, the Society for the History of Technology offers a number of awards, grants, and prizes, details on which may be obtained by clicking on the name of the appropriate item below. The Committees are requested to follow a “standard” timeline, that is adjusted to accommodate the current Annual Meeting
Leonardo da Vinci Medal
Leonardo da Vinci Medal: The society’s highest honor, presented to an individual who has greatly contributed to the history of technology through research, teaching, publications, service to the Society, and other activities.
Fellowships
Melvin Kranzberg Dissertation Fellowship: Awarded annually to a student preparing a dissertation on a history of technology topic (broadly defined).
Brooke Hindle Postdoctoral Fellowship: Postdoctoral fellowship enabling an early career scholar to prepare a dissertation for publication or to develop a new project.
Fellowships in Aerospace History (NASA): A predoctoral or postdoctoral fellowship in the history of space technology.
Awards and Prizes
Sidney Edelstein Prize: Recognizes an outstanding scholarly book on a topic related to the history of technology.
Sally Hacker Prize: Established in 1999 to honor an exceptional book on the history of technology intended for non-specialist as well as scholarly readers.
Abbot Payson Usher Prize: Awarded annually to honor the best scholarly article published in Technology and Culture.
Joan Cahalin Robinson Prize: Awarded for to a graduate student or early career scholar presenting at the SHOT annual meeting for the first time.
Samuel Eleazar and Rose Tartakow Levinson Prize: Recognizes an unpublished essay in the history of technology. Restricted to graduate students, early career scholars, and new entrants to the profession.
Bernard S. Finn IEEE History Prize For the best article in the history of electrotechnology—power, electronics, telecommunications, and computer science.
Dibner Award for Excellence in Museum Exhibits: Annual Award for an outstanding exhibit that uses artifacts to interpret the history of technology to the general public.
Eugene S. Ferguson Prize: For original reference works that support future scholarship in the history of technology.
Martha Trescott Prize: For the best published essay in the area of women in technology (even-numbered years), or in the area of social responsibility of engineers in history (odd-numbered years).
Global Community Scholars: Each year, SHOT designates selected Global Community Scholars for a two-year term. These scholars act as ambassadors for the society in their countries and regions, both by informing SHOT about the history of technology in their regions, and by helping to disseminate information about the society and its activities.
Race and Histories of Technologies Prize: First presentation of this new Prize in 2022, for outstanding scholarship that explicitly explores the multiple intersections and junctures between race/ethnicity and the history of technology. The prize is part of a collective commitment for addressing systemic and epistemic racism at SHOT and in the global intellectual field it represents. The prize is intended for junior scholars and new entrants to the profession worldwide.
