Kärin Nickelsen (born 1972) is a German

historian of science The history of science covers the development of science from ancient history, ancient times to the present. It encompasses all three major branches of science: natural science, natural, social science, social, and formal science, formal. Pr ...

whose works have included books on eighteenth-century

botanical illustration Botanical illustration is the art of depicting the form, color, and details of plant species. They are generally meant to be scientifically descriptive about subjects depicted and are often found printed alongside a botanical description in boo ...

photosynthesis Photosynthesis ( ) is a system of biological processes by which photosynthetic organisms, such as most plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, convert light energy, typically from sunlight, into the chemical energy necessary to fuel their metabo ...

, and

life-support system A life-support system is the combination of equipment that allows survival in an environment or situation that would not support that life in its absence. It is generally applied to systems supporting human life in situations where the outside ...

s for

human spaceflight Human spaceflight (also referred to as manned spaceflight or crewed spaceflight) is spaceflight with a crew or passengers aboard a spacecraft, often with the spacecraft being operated directly by the onboard human crew. Spacecraft can also be ...

. She is a professor at

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

Education and career

Nickelsen earned a diploma at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

in 1999, and completed her Ph.D. in 2002 at the

University of Bern The University of Bern (, , ) is a public university, public research university in the Switzerland, Swiss capital of Bern. It was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the canton of Bern. It is a comprehensive university offering a br ...

in Switzerland. She became an assistant professor at the

, was promoted to associate professor in 2006, and completed a

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

there in 2010. In 2011 she took her present position as professor for the History of Science at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.

Books

Nickelsen is the author of: *''Draughtsmen, Botanists and Nature: The Construction of Eighteenth-Century Botanical Illustrations'' (Springer, 2006) *''The Maximum Quantum Yield Controversy: Otto Warburg and the "Midwest-Gang"'' (with Govindjee, Bern Studies in the History and Philosophy of Science, 2011) *''Explaining Photosynthesis: Models of Biochemical Mechanisms, 1840–1960'' (Springer, 2015) *''Far Beyond the Moon: A History of Life Support Systems in the Space Age'' (with David P. D. Munns, University of Pittsburgh Press, 2020)

Recognition

Nickelsen won the in 2010, and became a member of the

German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (), in short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded on 1 January 1652, based on academic models in Italy, it was originally named the ''Academi ...

in 2011. She was elected to the

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of humanities, letters, law, and sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europe ...

in 2020.

References

External links

Home page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nickelsen, Karin 1972 births Living people 21st-century German historians German women historians German historians of science University of Göttingen alumni University of Bern alumni Academic staff of the University of Bern Academic staff of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich Members of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina Members of Academia Europaea