Maria Rentetzi is a Professor of

History of Science and Technology The history of science and technology (HST) is a field of history that examines the understanding of the natural world (science) and the ability to manipulate it (technology) at different points in time. This academic discipline also studies the c ...

and holds the Chair for Science, Technology and Gender Studies at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany.

Early life and education

Born in

Kavala Kavala ( el, Καβάλα, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos and on the Egnat ...

, Greece, Rentetzi was trained as a physicist at the

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

, received her MA in History of Science and Technology from the

National Technical University of Athens The National (Metsovian) Technical University of Athens (NTUA; el, Εθνικό Μετσόβιο Πολυτεχνείο, ''National Metsovian Polytechnic''), sometimes known as Athens Polytechnic, is among the oldest higher education institution ...

(NTUA), and a PhD in Science and Technology Studies from

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

.

' Centaurus: An International Journal of the History of Science and Its Cultural Aspects

Career

Rentetzi was previously a tenured professor at NTUA, a Lise Meitner Fellow of the

Austrian Science Fund The Austrian Science Fund (german: Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung, FWF) is the most important Austrian funding organization for basic research. The FWF supports research in science, engineering, and the humanities through a ...

, a Silverman Professor at Tel Aviv University's Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas, a guest professor at

TU Berlin The Technical University of Berlin (official name both in English and german: link=no, Technische Universität Berlin, also known as TU Berlin and Berlin Institute of Technology) is a public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was ...

, and is currently a visiting scholar at the

Max Planck Institute for the History of Science The Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (German: Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte) is a scientific research institute founded in March 1994. It is dedicated to addressing fundamental questions of the history of knowledg ...

. She is also a past president of the International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science's Commission of Women and Gender, and a member of the editorial board of the journals ''

History and Technology ''History and Technology'' is a quarterly peer reviewed academic journal devoted to publishing papers on all aspects of the history of technology. It was established in 1983. One of the founding editors was Pietro Redondi. The subjects range from ...

'' and ''Centaurus'', among others. The

European Research Council The European Research Council (ERC) is a public body for funding of scientific and technological research conducted within the European Union (EU). Established by the European Commission in 2007, the ERC is composed of an independent Scientific ...

(ERC) awarded Rentetzi one of its prestigious "Consolidator Grants" for her work on nuclear diplomacy - the ERC project is called "Living with Radiation: The Role of the

International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...

in the History of

Radiation Protection Radiation protection, also known as radiological protection, is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as "The protection of people from harmful effects of exposure to ionizing radiation, and the means for achieving this". Expos ...

". She is a work package leader within the Horizon 2020 project "InsSciDE - Inventing a Shared Science Diplomacy for Europe", a member of AcademiaNet for excellent female researchers, and was named the 2021 Gordon Cain Conference Fellow by the

Science History Institute The Science History Institute is an institution that preserves and promotes understanding of the history of science. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it includes a library, museum, archive, research center and conference center. It was fo ...

. Rentetzi has published widely on the history of radioactivity and the nuclear sciences and on Greece’s history of tobacco culture and technology.

Selected publications

''Seduced By Radium: How Industry Commodified Science in the American Marketplace''
(University of Pittsburgh Press, 2022)
“Nuclear Diplomacies,”
special issue of ''History and Technology'', 37(1) (2021) (ed. with Kenji Ito)
“The Material Culture and Politics of Artifacts in Nuclear Diplomacy,”
special issue of ''Centaurus'', 63 (2) (2021) (ed. with Kenji Ito) *
Boxes: A Field Guide
' (Mattering Press, 2020) (ed. with Susanne Bauer and Martina Schlünder) * ''Tobacco / 101 notes on oriental tobacco'' (Benaki Museum, 2014) (with Spiros Flevaris)
“Beyond the Academy: Histories of Knowledge and Gender,”
special issue of ''Centaurus,'' 55, 2013 (ed. with Christine von Oertzen and Elizabeth S. Watkins) *
Trafficking Materials and Gendered Experimental Practices: Radium Research in Early Twentieth Century Vienna
' (Columbia University Press, 2007)

' Review by Marsha L. Richmond in Journal of the History of Biology 42(3)
“Gender, Politics, and Radioactivity Research in Interwar Vienna: The Case of the Institute for Radium Research”
''Isis'' 95(3) (2004)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rentetzi, Maria Historians of science Women historians Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People from Kavala