banner
tjowens.bsky.social
Trevor Owens
@tjowens.bsky.social
2K followers 580 following 330 posts
Chief Research Officer at the American Institute of Physics. Working on the history of science, libraries and archives, and social science research. Fan of bike rides, small dogs, and vegetarian cuisine.
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
tjowens.bsky.social
Trevor Owens @tjowens.bsky.social · 12h
Great context and background on the winners of this year’s Nobel prize in physics.
physicstoday.bsky.social
Physics Today @physicstoday.bsky.social · 1d
Our story on today’s announcement of the 2025 #NobelPrize in #Physics has been updated. Learn more about the prizewinning research.

#IYQ2025
Clarke, Devoret, and Martinis share 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics
With their experiments on an electric circuit in which all the electrons together behaved like a single particle, the laureates provided the first demonstration of quantum behavior at a macroscopic sc...
pubs.aip.org
4
tjowens.bsky.social
Trevor Owens @tjowens.bsky.social · 2d
Also thrilled to see the book reference AIP oral histories with Vera Rubin, Lise Meitner, and Margaret Burbidge.
1
tjowens.bsky.social
Trevor Owens @tjowens.bsky.social · 2d
Finished reading Shohini Ghose’s book “Her Space, Her Time: How Trailblazing Women Scientists Decoded the Hidden Universe.” I highly recommend the book to anyone interested in the physical sciences and their histories. -> mitpress.mit.edu/978026204831...
Her Space, Her Time
Women physicists and astronomers from around the world have transformed science and society, but the critical roles they played in their fields are not alway...
mitpress.mit.edu
1 1
tjowens.bsky.social
Trevor Owens @tjowens.bsky.social · 5d
Finished reading @adambecker.bsky.social’s “More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley's Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity.” An amazing resource for understanding how the focus on AI relates to billionaires desires to colonize space and live forever.
adambecker.bsky.social
Adam Becker @adambecker.bsky.social · Apr 23
Today's the day! My new book MORE EVERYTHING FOREVER is finally out! If you want to understand why tech billionaires are so obsessed with impossible ideas about space and AI — and why that's dangerous — this book is for you. #MoreEverythingForever www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/adam-...
More Everything Forever
This "wild and utterly engaging narrative" (Melanie Mitchell) shows why Silicon Valley’s heartless, baseless, and foolish obsessions—with escaping death,...
www.hachettebookgroup.com
1 1
tjowens.bsky.social
Trevor Owens @tjowens.bsky.social · 8d
Lots of updates and opportunities in this month's @aip.bsky.social history monthly newsletter! Learn about some new photo collections, grants for archives and historians of science, and articles on a number of major history of science exhibitions and programs www.aip.org/history/aip-...
September 2025
AIP History September Update
www.aip.org
1 2
Reposted by Trevor Owens
physicstoday.bsky.social
Physics Today @physicstoday.bsky.social · 8d
Amid today's fast-moving news cycles, it can be hard to keep up with the rapid changes happening to federal climate science in the US. Here's a review of some of the big changes in the US since January.

#physics #standupforscience
Five ways the second Trump term is reshaping climate science and policy
A review of federal actions on science, data, and policy in the administration’s first eight months shows far-reaching consequences.
pubs.aip.org
2 3
tjowens.bsky.social
Trevor Owens @tjowens.bsky.social · 9d
Great @physicstoday.bsky.social article covering how professional societies are supporting scientists to lobby effectively in response to the attacks on science -> pubs.aip.org/physicstoday...
Advocating for science gains urgency
In response to the US government’s attacks on science, professional societies intensify efforts to prep scientists to lobby effectively.
pubs.aip.org
3 5
tjowens.bsky.social
Trevor Owens @tjowens.bsky.social · 9d
Always excited to check out a @copystar.bsky.social talk! Don’t miss out on this one on libraries and LLMs.
copystar.bsky.social
Mita Williams @copystar.bsky.social · 18d
Today I spoke on a panel at THE LEGACY OF CCH CANADIAN LTD. v. LAW SOCIETY OF UPPER CANADA AND FUTURE OF COPYRIGHT LAW CONFERENCE 2025.

Here is my talk: "Libraries and Large Language Models as Cultural Technologies and Two Kinds of Power"

librarian.aedileworks.com/2025/09/20/l...
Libraries and Large Language Models as Cultural Technologies and Two Kinds of Power
On September 20th, 2025, I spoke on a panel at THE LEGACY OF CCH CANADIAN LTD. v. LAW SOCIETY OF UPPER CANADA AND FUTURE OF COPYRIGHT LAW CONFERENCE 2025. Here is my talk.
librarian.aedileworks.com
1 6
Reposted by Trevor Owens
williamthomas.bsky.social
Will Thomas @williamthomas.bsky.social · 11d
Sudden policy change from NSF, saying only 1st year PhD students, or earlier, can apply to the GRFP. Second years are out of luck. (I got a GRF as a 2nd-year applicant, and it very much turbocharged my dissertation work; much more valuable than if I'd had it while still doing my coursework.)
klangin.bsky.social
Katie Langin @klangin.bsky.social · 12d
Today was a hard day for Ph.D. students who found out that they can no longer apply for NSF's prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship Program. "Devastating“ was how one student described it to me. #GradSchool #NSFGRFP

www.science.org/content/arti...
‘Completely shattered.’ Changes to NSF’s graduate student fellowship spur outcry
The announcement comes months later than usual, leaving many would-be applicants stranded
www.science.org
2 4
Reposted by Trevor Owens
williamthomas.bsky.social
Will Thomas @williamthomas.bsky.social · 12d
At AIP we've launched a new policy research program to go deep on current questions and pull together more comprehensive pictures. Leading this work, Lindsay Milliken has produced her first public product, a primer on the new $100,000 fee on H-1B petitions.
Policy primer: A new $100,000 fee on H-1B Visas
President Trump has issued a proclamation requiring a $100,000 payment for each new H-1B petition. We examine what it does and does not do, how it is being justified, and what developments to look out...
www.aip.org
6 7
Reposted by Trevor Owens
williamthomas.bsky.social
Will Thomas @williamthomas.bsky.social · 12d
How do decisions about big science projects get made?

In the 1980s, it was still possible to think that it could be done by finding an influential person who could make it happen. But increasingly, having a formal, consultative process was regarded as necessary to secure buy-in.

#histsci #scipol
The ’80s-era transition in US science project politics
AIP History Weekly Edition: September 26, 2025
www.aip.org
1 3 6
tjowens.bsky.social
Trevor Owens @tjowens.bsky.social · 13d
"How AIP is Giving a Name to Mrs. Scientist" -> www.aip.org/mrs-scientist Excited to see this overview of some of the reparative description work that AIP's Niels Bohr Library and Archives team is doing with our photo collections.
How AIP is Giving a Name to Mrs. Scientist
Our librarians and archivists are working together to recognize more Faces of the Physical Sciences
www.aip.org
2 9 18
tjowens.bsky.social
Trevor Owens @tjowens.bsky.social · 13d
"After Disruption shares a compelling summary of the problematic notions stemming from the digital age into memory institutions, and it offers hope and inspiration for memory workers to pave the way for a more just culture beyond our current one." Thanks Jaycee Chapman for the review.
tjowens.bsky.social
Trevor Owens @tjowens.bsky.social · 13d
Fun to wake up to this thoughtful & positive review of my book, After Disruption: A Future for Cultural Memory in the journal College and Research Libraries.

Read the review here -> crl.acrl.org/index.php/cr...

Open access copy of the book here -> www.fulcrum.org/concern/mono...
2 7
tjowens.bsky.social
Trevor Owens @tjowens.bsky.social · 13d
Fun to wake up to this thoughtful & positive review of my book, After Disruption: A Future for Cultural Memory in the journal College and Research Libraries.

Read the review here -> crl.acrl.org/index.php/cr...

Open access copy of the book here -> www.fulcrum.org/concern/mono...
2 5
Reposted by Trevor Owens
archive.org
Internet Archive @archive.org · 14d
We’re not just planning for a digital future: we’re living in a digital present. How do we make a sustainable cultural memory?

@TJOwens.bsky.social & @ShannonMattern.bsky.social discuss in the #booktalk AFTER DISRUPTION.

🗓 Thurs Sept 25
🕖 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET
🎟️ www.eventbrite.com/e/1633230118...
Promotional image for an online book talk titled 'After Disruption.' Left side shows portraits of Trevor Owens and Shannon Mattern with text: 'After Disruption Book Talk, with Trevor Owens & Shannon Mattern.' Center panel reads: 'September 25th, 10am PT / 1pm ET, Online. Join us for a book talk with Trevor Owens, author of After Disruption: A Future for Cultural Memory, in conversation with Shannon Mattern, as they explore how libraries, archives, and museums can reclaim their role in shaping a just and sustainable digital present.' Logos of Internet Archive and Authors Alliance appear at the bottom. Right side shows the book cover for 'After Disruption: A Future for Cultural Memory' by Trevor Owens, featuring a photo of a grand library entrance.
37 130
Reposted by Trevor Owens
williamthomas.bsky.social
Will Thomas @williamthomas.bsky.social · 19d
2025 marks the end of three decades of work in history of physics at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science.

We talked to Alex Blum, who led the 7-year Final Theory history research group there, about what they learned, how they worked, and how it can be a model for future #histsci.
Q&A: Alex Blum on the Final Theory history group
AIP History Weekly Edition: September 19, 2025
www.aip.org
3 8
tjowens.bsky.social
Trevor Owens @tjowens.bsky.social · 29d
📣 AIP's Niels Bohr Library and Archives is collecting personal stories from scientists, engineers, students & others in the physical sciences whose careers have been impacted by recent U.S. policy & funding changes. Learn more about how to get involved here ->
www.aip.org/library/ex-l...
Physical Science Careers Disrupted
Documenting the Impact of Federal Funding & Policy Changes
www.aip.org
3 3
tjowens.bsky.social
Trevor Owens @tjowens.bsky.social · Sep 8
Great new piece on the history of politicization of science through the 1953 AD-X2 battery additive controversy from Joe Martin in Physics Today. A powerful example of the role scientific societies have and continue to play in advocating for scientific integrity. pubs.aip.org/physicstoday...
Political currents
The Eisenhower administration dismissed the director of the National Bureau of Standards in 1953. Suspecting political interference with the agency’s research, scientists fought back—and won.
pubs.aip.org
2
tjowens.bsky.social
Trevor Owens @tjowens.bsky.social · Sep 8
What a time to be alive.
tjowens.bsky.social
Trevor Owens @tjowens.bsky.social · Sep 3
“Out of the Box: The People Behind the Niels Bohr Library & Archives” provides a fun chance to get to know the librarians and archivists working to preserve and support research on the history of the physical sciences -> www.aip.org/library/ex-l...
Out of the Box
The People Behind the Niels Bohr Library & Archives
www.aip.org
1 2 15
tjowens.bsky.social
Trevor Owens @tjowens.bsky.social · Sep 3
The August edition of the AIP History Monthly is out—and it’s packed with exciting updates, new resources, and ways to get involved in preserving and interpreting the history of the physical sciences. -> www.aip.org/history/aip-...
August 2025
AIP History August Update
www.aip.org
1 2
Reposted by Trevor Owens
shannonmattern.bsky.social
Shannon Mattern @shannonmattern.bsky.social · Aug 27
On September 25, at 1pm ET, I'll be talking with @tjowens.bsky.social about his book, After Disruption. I especially want to know how we think about the values informing cultural memory practice amidst such ubiquitous, nefarious disruption — and plan ahead for the aftermath. Hosted by @archive.org.
Book Talk: After Disruption: A Future For Cultural Memory
Join Trevor Owens & Shannon Mattern to explore how libraries, archives, & museums can shape a just, sustainable digital future.
www.eventbrite.com
18 36
tjowens.bsky.social
Trevor Owens @tjowens.bsky.social · Aug 26
How are new physics grads actually using AI tools? Until now, we didn’t really know. 40% of new physics PhDs report routinely using AI tools on the job and nearly 20% report that their work involves developing AI models. Read the full report here -> www.aip.org/statistics/a...
AI Use Among Physics Degree Recipients
Results from the 2023-24 Degree Recipient Follow-Up Survey
www.aip.org
tjowens.bsky.social
Trevor Owens @tjowens.bsky.social · Aug 22
Great read for anyone interested in relationships between big science projects, science policy, and land/landscapes.
williamthomas.bsky.social
Will Thomas @williamthomas.bsky.social · Aug 22
In this week's history newsletter from AIP, @rebeccacharbon.bsky.social spotlights the new article by @tiffanynichols.bsky.social in Isis, digging into the rise and fall of an early proposal to site a @ligo.org detector in Maine's Blueberry Barrens.
Article spotlight: When LIGO might have been in Maine
AIP History Weekly Edition: August 22, 2025
www.aip.org
1 5
tjowens.bsky.social
Trevor Owens @tjowens.bsky.social · Aug 9
Thanks!