Kenneth Bertrams

Professor Kenneth Bertrams holds dual appointments as Full Professor at the Free University of Brussels' Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences (affiliated with the Research Centre Modern & Contemporary Worlds) and Extraordinary Professor at Maastricht University-FASoS through a Stichting Historie der Techniek endowed chair. His career at ULB progressed from Research Associate (2007-2015) to Assistant Professor (2015-2017) before his current professorship since 2017.

His research spans modern economic history with specialized focus on social history of science and technology, business history of multinational corporations (particularly pharmaceutical and brewing industries), and political history of scientists during/after World War I. He examines how Belgian industrial firms like Solvay, UCB, and AB-InBev operated within global contexts, analyzing corporate strategies and transnational influences.

His publication trends reveal consistent output in corporate history monographs (Solvay 2013, UCB 2018, AB-InBev 2020) alongside scholarly articles on scientific diplomacy and wartime industrial relations. Recent works increasingly integrate business history with social policy analysis, particularly regarding philanthropy models and occupation-era social insurance systems.

His major recognitions include:

• Election to Royal Academy of Belgium (2016)
• Kurgan-van Hentenryk Chair in Business History (2015)
• SHT-Chair in History of Science & Technology (2019-2024)

Bertrams supervises research through ULB's Research Centre Modern & Contemporary Worlds, with funding derived from endowed chairs (SHT, Kurgan-van Hentenryk), academy memberships, and likely European research grants given his transnational focus. His collaborative network spans Belgium, Netherlands, UK, and Germany as evidenced by co-authored works with international scholars.

His research group operates within ULB's historical studies framework, focusing on archival analysis of corporate records and scientific networks. Current projects examine post-WWI scientific diplomacy and multinational corporate evolution, with particular emphasis on Belgian industrial heritage within European and global contexts.