Elena Aronova

Elena Aronova is a historian of science affiliated with the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG) in Berlin, part of the Max Planck Society. Her research focuses on the history of environmental and evolutionary sciences in the twentieth century, particularly the intersection of scientific practices with social and political contexts. She led the project "Doing Things with Data: The Cold War Political Economy of Environmental Archives," analyzing Cold War-era data collection and exchange through initiatives like the International Geophysical Year (IGY, 1957-8) and World Data Centers. Aronova co-edited a thematic volume of Osiris on "Histories of Data" (2017) and collaborated with MPIWG's IT Department on a digital humanities resource for the IGY's spatial history. Her work also explores the emergence of "science studies" as a politically relevant field during the Cold War, reflected in her upcoming book Science and the Cultural Cold War: Thinking Science on the Opposite Sides of the Iron Curtain. She holds a PhD in History and Science Studies from the University of California, San Diego (2012) and a doctorate in Biology and History of Science from the Russian Academy of Science, with a fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Greifswald (2011/2012). She will transition to an Assistant Professor role in the History Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

• Affiliation: Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG), Berlin
• Future Affiliation: University of California, Santa Barbara (History Department)
• Education: PhD in History and Science Studies (UC San Diego, 2012); Doctorate in Biology and History of Science (Russian Academy of Science)
• Research Themes: Big Data history, Cold War political economy, environmental archives, science studies, digital humanities