Elena Canadelli

Elena Canadelli is an Associate Professor of History of Science at the University of Padua, where she also serves as Scientific Director of the Botanical Museum. Her academic trajectory includes postdoctoral fellowships at Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, the University of Milan-Bicocca, and the University of Padua.

She earned her Philosophy degree from Milan University and completed her PhD in History of Science at the University of Pisa in 2009, focusing on nineteenth-century Italian evolutionist Tito Vignoli. Her educational background bridges philosophical inquiry with historical analysis of scientific practices.

Canadelli's research centers on visual epistemology in science, examining how scientific knowledge is constructed through visual and material cultures. She investigates museum exhibition frameworks, historical collecting practices of natural history objects (1800s-1900s), and contemporary digitization challenges. Her work critically analyzes how digitization transforms access to and interpretation of natural history collections, particularly botanical archives.

Her 2019 publication Behind the Exhibit exemplifies her focus on science communication through exhibitions, analyzing world's fairs as sites of technological display. Current projects extend this to digitization's impact on collection mobility, reflecting her sustained interest in how scientific knowledge becomes publicly accessible through material and digital infrastructures.

As Scientific Director of Padua's Botanical Museum, she integrates historical collection management with modern digitization initiatives. Her leadership connects with the Department's "Mobility & Humanities" project and the Italian National Biodiversity Future Center, developing digital frameworks to enhance research utility and public engagement with natural history collections.