Will Thomas
@williamthomas.bsky.social
Director of Research in History, Policy, and Culture at the American Institute of Physics. Author of Rational Action: The Sciences of Policy in Britain and America, 1940-1960. Views expressed are my own.
Speaking as a Minnesotan, oh, gosh, yeah, that'll sting, for sure. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/17/u...
January 17, 2026 at 11:50 PM
Speaking as a Minnesotan, oh, gosh, yeah, that'll sting, for sure. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/17/u...
By the way, in a few weeks or so, NASA is going to fly some astronauts around the Moon for the first time since Apollo.
SLS/Orion rolls to pad for Artemis 2
NASA’s Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft rolled to the launch pad for the Artemis 2 mission Jan. 17, though uncertainty remains about when it will be ready to launch.
NASA’s Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft rolled to the launch pad for the Artemis 2 mission Jan. 17, though uncertainty remains about when it will be ready to launch.
SLS/Orion rolls to pad for Artemis 2
NASA’s Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft rolled to the launch pad for the Artemis 2 mission Jan. 17, though uncertainty remains about when it will be ready to launch.
spacenews.com
January 17, 2026 at 7:12 PM
By the way, in a few weeks or so, NASA is going to fly some astronauts around the Moon for the first time since Apollo.
In today's AIP History Weekly Edition, Anna Doel spotlights two BJHS articles, by Matthias Heymann and Carolina Granado, covering the international balancing act of assembling the Global Atmospheric Research Program and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The common factor? Bert Bolin.
Article spotlight: Matthias Heymann and Carolina Granado on GARP and the IPCC
Weekly Edition: January 16, 2026
www.aip.org
January 16, 2026 at 8:46 PM
In today's AIP History Weekly Edition, Anna Doel spotlights two BJHS articles, by Matthias Heymann and Carolina Granado, covering the international balancing act of assembling the Global Atmospheric Research Program and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The common factor? Bert Bolin.
Reposted by Will Thomas
🔥 My book Conversations on Rational Choice is finally out: Conversation partners include Kenneth Arrow, Gary Becker, C. Bicchieri, D. Kahneman, P. Suppes, Christian List, Vernon Smith, Tom Schelling, L.A.Paul, C. Camerer, Martin Shubik, R. Kranton, and many others. www.cambridge.org/core/books/c...
Conversations on Rational Choice
Cambridge Core - Economic Thought, Philosophy and Methodology - Conversations on Rational Choice
www.cambridge.org
January 16, 2026 at 8:13 PM
🔥 My book Conversations on Rational Choice is finally out: Conversation partners include Kenneth Arrow, Gary Becker, C. Bicchieri, D. Kahneman, P. Suppes, Christian List, Vernon Smith, Tom Schelling, L.A.Paul, C. Camerer, Martin Shubik, R. Kranton, and many others. www.cambridge.org/core/books/c...
Reposted by Will Thomas
Why isn't Purdue talking about its new policy to halt graduate student admissions from China and other "countries of concern"? www.science.org/content/arti...
Purdue blocks admission of many Chinese grad students in unwritten policy
Faculty members say university is overreacting to pressure from the Trump administration and Congress
www.science.org
January 16, 2026 at 6:38 PM
Why isn't Purdue talking about its new policy to halt graduate student admissions from China and other "countries of concern"? www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Will Thomas
Want to study the history of science and/or technology? We invite applications for fully-funded MA+PhD (1-3 years) or PhD-only (3 years) Hans Rausing scholarships.
Deadline is 17 April 2026 (we advise to check @kingshistory.bsky.social application deadlines)
Find out more: tinyurl.com/mw84w7py
Deadline is 17 April 2026 (we advise to check @kingshistory.bsky.social application deadlines)
Find out more: tinyurl.com/mw84w7py
January 14, 2026 at 3:11 PM
Want to study the history of science and/or technology? We invite applications for fully-funded MA+PhD (1-3 years) or PhD-only (3 years) Hans Rausing scholarships.
Deadline is 17 April 2026 (we advise to check @kingshistory.bsky.social application deadlines)
Find out more: tinyurl.com/mw84w7py
Deadline is 17 April 2026 (we advise to check @kingshistory.bsky.social application deadlines)
Find out more: tinyurl.com/mw84w7py
Hey, The Secret Agent is getting some wins! I saw this a week ago. It was very good. Great film for historians, and even for historians of science (Moura plays a scientist in hiding). Great film for our times. I especially enjoyed it having spent two weeks in Salvador, Brazil last summer.
“O Agente Secreto é um filme sobre memória, a falta de memória e o trauma geracional. Acredito que se o trauma pode passar de geração em gerações, os valores também podem. Viva o Brasil, viva a cultura brasileira”
— Wagner Moura recebendo o #GoldenGlobes
— Wagner Moura recebendo o #GoldenGlobes
January 12, 2026 at 4:24 AM
Hey, The Secret Agent is getting some wins! I saw this a week ago. It was very good. Great film for historians, and even for historians of science (Moura plays a scientist in hiding). Great film for our times. I especially enjoyed it having spent two weeks in Salvador, Brazil last summer.
Reposted by Will Thomas
Shameless Flamsteed/Royal Observatory plug, this talk by @hillemmalouise.bsky.social and I: youtu.be/Hn6FeZ2UlZo?...
After Hours with Flamsteed's Burned Star Atlas
YouTube video by Linda Hall Library
youtu.be
January 9, 2026 at 5:53 PM
Shameless Flamsteed/Royal Observatory plug, this talk by @hillemmalouise.bsky.social and I: youtu.be/Hn6FeZ2UlZo?...
In today's AIP History Weekly Edition, we look at recent articles by @rhiggitt.bsky.social and Yuto Ishibashi, which show how record-keeping, history, and institutional governance intertwined during the centuries-long evolution of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich.
History and the governance of the Royal Observatory
AIP History Weekly Edition: January 9, 2026
www.aip.org
January 9, 2026 at 3:29 PM
In today's AIP History Weekly Edition, we look at recent articles by @rhiggitt.bsky.social and Yuto Ishibashi, which show how record-keeping, history, and institutional governance intertwined during the centuries-long evolution of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich.
Reposted by Will Thomas
Roman Space Telescope on track for September launch
NASA expects to launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope as soon as September, seeing it as evidence the agency can do flagships on cost and schedule.
NASA expects to launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope as soon as September, seeing it as evidence the agency can do flagships on cost and schedule.
Roman Space Telescope on track for September launch
NASA expects to launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope as soon as September, seeing it as evidence the agency can do flagships on cost and schedule.
spacenews.com
January 8, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Roman Space Telescope on track for September launch
NASA expects to launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope as soon as September, seeing it as evidence the agency can do flagships on cost and schedule.
NASA expects to launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope as soon as September, seeing it as evidence the agency can do flagships on cost and schedule.
Short fascinating article by Ben Wilson looking at how Hans Bethe and Dick Garwin's advisory work on anti-ballistic missile tech diverged from the more broadly critical stance they took when writing and speaking as public scientists. More questions than answers on why they let SciAm rewrite them.
How Hans Bethe and Richard Garwin served the missile defense system they publicly criticized
During the Cold War, two physicists became public "opponents" of the Pentagon's antiballistic missile systems. But they kept doing private work on behalf of the administration's policy.
thebulletin.org
January 7, 2026 at 1:08 PM
Short fascinating article by Ben Wilson looking at how Hans Bethe and Dick Garwin's advisory work on anti-ballistic missile tech diverged from the more broadly critical stance they took when writing and speaking as public scientists. More questions than answers on why they let SciAm rewrite them.
MSR had serious issues for years. I would very much like to see a detailed case study of it.
My latest: The compromise spending bill is mostly full of good news for NASA science. But there is one off note: Mars Sample Return, as it's been currently devised, has no way forward.
NASA’s Mars Sample Return mission is dead
Congress backs Trump administration’s efforts to kill project that would ferry martian rocks to Earth
www.science.org
January 7, 2026 at 3:09 AM
MSR had serious issues for years. I would very much like to see a detailed case study of it.
Reposted by Will Thomas
Very good news for NASA Science in the compromise 2026 funding bill released by Congress today:
January 5, 2026 at 6:05 PM
Very good news for NASA Science in the compromise 2026 funding bill released by Congress today:
Reposted by Will Thomas
I come back from my winter PTO and day one Congress drops the text of a minibus. The dashboard has been updated with the Senate Homeland numbers, and all the info in the CJS-Int-E&W minibus. A House vote is scheduled tomorrow night, and Senate likely later this week.
www.aaas.org/news/fy-2026...
www.aaas.org/news/fy-2026...
FY 2026 R&D Appropriations Dashboard | American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
www.aaas.org
January 5, 2026 at 6:10 PM
I come back from my winter PTO and day one Congress drops the text of a minibus. The dashboard has been updated with the Senate Homeland numbers, and all the info in the CJS-Int-E&W minibus. A House vote is scheduled tomorrow night, and Senate likely later this week.
www.aaas.org/news/fy-2026...
www.aaas.org/news/fy-2026...
Reposted by Will Thomas
Check out the recording of the AHA’s Congressional Briefing offering historical perspectives on federal science funding. Panelists Melinda Baldwin, Arthur Daemmrich, & Bhaven Sampat, with moderator Alexandra Levy discussed the history of the federal govt's approach toward science in public policy.🗃️
AHA Congressional Briefing: History of Federal Science Funding
YouTube video by American Historical Association
www.youtube.com
January 2, 2026 at 9:09 PM
Check out the recording of the AHA’s Congressional Briefing offering historical perspectives on federal science funding. Panelists Melinda Baldwin, Arthur Daemmrich, & Bhaven Sampat, with moderator Alexandra Levy discussed the history of the federal govt's approach toward science in public policy.🗃️
Reposted by Will Thomas
The semiannual AIP History Newsletter is out! The feature article highlights a surge in scholarship around experiments on quantum entanglement. The topic is most associated with tests of Bell's theorem but the history predates and is broader than those efforts.
aip.brightspotcdn.com/83/0f/cc825f...
aip.brightspotcdn.com/83/0f/cc825f...
December 22, 2025 at 1:10 PM
The semiannual AIP History Newsletter is out! The feature article highlights a surge in scholarship around experiments on quantum entanglement. The topic is most associated with tests of Bell's theorem but the history predates and is broader than those efforts.
aip.brightspotcdn.com/83/0f/cc825f...
aip.brightspotcdn.com/83/0f/cc825f...
Reposted by Will Thomas
Before the holiday break, @rebeccacharbon.bsky.social queued up a spotlight on Peter Pesic's @physicspip.bsky.social article on Einstein's sockless ways. It addresses not only Einstein's motivations, but also the cultural reasons behind why it was a topic of fascination www.aip.org/history/pete...
Article Spotlight: Peter Pesic on Einstein’s socks
AIP History Weekly Update: December 26, 2025
www.aip.org
December 26, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Before the holiday break, @rebeccacharbon.bsky.social queued up a spotlight on Peter Pesic's @physicspip.bsky.social article on Einstein's sockless ways. It addresses not only Einstein's motivations, but also the cultural reasons behind why it was a topic of fascination www.aip.org/history/pete...
It can sometimes feel like the history of the physical sciences is on its back foot. The AIP History Weekly Edition set out to show that, globally, there's so much going on that you can talk about it weekly and not get to everything. Here's some of what we couldn't get to in 2025. #histsci
A New Year’s open-access smorgasbord
AIP History Weekly Edition: January 2, 2026
www.aip.org
January 2, 2026 at 4:38 PM
It can sometimes feel like the history of the physical sciences is on its back foot. The AIP History Weekly Edition set out to show that, globally, there's so much going on that you can talk about it weekly and not get to everything. Here's some of what we couldn't get to in 2025. #histsci
This is the library at the Goddard Space Flight Center here in Maryland, a crucial center for NASA's scientific work. Funnily enough, I've just been reading Yuto Ishibashi's Isis article on George Airy's cultivation of the Royal Observatory's library and archive doi.org/10.1086/733991
NASA’s Largest Library Is Closing Amid Staff and Lab Cuts
www.nytimes.com
December 31, 2025 at 10:02 PM
This is the library at the Goddard Space Flight Center here in Maryland, a crucial center for NASA's scientific work. Funnily enough, I've just been reading Yuto Ishibashi's Isis article on George Airy's cultivation of the Royal Observatory's library and archive doi.org/10.1086/733991
Reposted by Will Thomas
Before the holiday break, @rebeccacharbon.bsky.social queued up a spotlight on Peter Pesic's @physicspip.bsky.social article on Einstein's sockless ways. It addresses not only Einstein's motivations, but also the cultural reasons behind why it was a topic of fascination www.aip.org/history/pete...
Article Spotlight: Peter Pesic on Einstein’s socks
AIP History Weekly Update: December 26, 2025
www.aip.org
December 26, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Before the holiday break, @rebeccacharbon.bsky.social queued up a spotlight on Peter Pesic's @physicspip.bsky.social article on Einstein's sockless ways. It addresses not only Einstein's motivations, but also the cultural reasons behind why it was a topic of fascination www.aip.org/history/pete...
The semiannual AIP History Newsletter is out! The feature article highlights a surge in scholarship around experiments on quantum entanglement. The topic is most associated with tests of Bell's theorem but the history predates and is broader than those efforts.
aip.brightspotcdn.com/83/0f/cc825f...
aip.brightspotcdn.com/83/0f/cc825f...
December 22, 2025 at 1:10 PM
The semiannual AIP History Newsletter is out! The feature article highlights a surge in scholarship around experiments on quantum entanglement. The topic is most associated with tests of Bell's theorem but the history predates and is broader than those efforts.
aip.brightspotcdn.com/83/0f/cc825f...
aip.brightspotcdn.com/83/0f/cc825f...
“Well, in our country,” said Alice, still panting a little, “you’d generally get to somewhere else—if you ran very fast for a long time, as we’ve been doing.”
“A slow sort of country!” said the Queen. “Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place."
“A slow sort of country!” said the Queen. “Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place."
December 20, 2025 at 12:18 AM
“Well, in our country,” said Alice, still panting a little, “you’d generally get to somewhere else—if you ran very fast for a long time, as we’ve been doing.”
“A slow sort of country!” said the Queen. “Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place."
“A slow sort of country!” said the Queen. “Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place."
In the latest Weekly Edition from AIP History, Julia Menzel answers some questions about the dissertation she completed this past summer at MIT. Now, she is working as a postdoc at @ihpst-uoft.bsky.social in Toronto. This is some great research that spans from epistemology to science policy.
Q&A: Julia Menzel on Kenneth Wilson, supercomputing, and the transformation of theory
AIP History Weekly Edition: December 19, 2025
www.aip.org
December 19, 2025 at 3:15 PM
In the latest Weekly Edition from AIP History, Julia Menzel answers some questions about the dissertation she completed this past summer at MIT. Now, she is working as a postdoc at @ihpst-uoft.bsky.social in Toronto. This is some great research that spans from epistemology to science policy.