City of Knowledge: Science, Place, Power

Learn more about the aps: https://www.amphilsoc.org/ City of Knowledge is a four-part, cross-institutional program series that contemplates Washington, D.C. as a center of scientific power, specifically how geography, politics, and Federal institutions—including the Smithsonian, founded with a bequest from a scientist—shaped American scientific identity. The series examines how institutions shape public trust, policy, and civic engagement in American science, as well as how scholars, communities, and cultural stewards influence the creation and circulation of knowledge. The first program, held at the American Institute of Physics on February 26, explored the history of the physical sciences—from mid nineteenth-century weather observers at the Smithsonian to the Space Race during the Cold War. The second panel, held at the MLK Library on March 31, will take a look at the life sciences, and the third, held at the DC History Center on April 16, will focus more precisely on urban history—how has science shaped our built environments, and how has it contributed to, or hindered, the creation of a just and livable city? This project received funding from the Smithsonian’s "Our Shared Future: 250," a Smithsonian-wide initiative supported by private philanthropy and created to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary and advance the Smithsonian vision for the next 250 years. It also complements the APS’s work on “America’s Scientific Revolutionaries," a two-year initiative funded by the Richard Lounsbery Foundation highlighting the work of lesser-known scientists and physicians active during the Revolutionary era.