Emily Thompson

Emily Thompson is a historian of technology affiliated with Princeton University's Department of History. Her work examines the intersection of technology, culture, and sensory experience in early twentieth-century America, with a focus on sound, media, and architecture.

• Education: B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Physics from Rochester Institute of Technology, Ph.D. in History from Princeton University.

Thompson's research investigates how technologies like the phonograph, motion pictures, and architectural acoustics shaped cultural practices of listening and media consumption between 1900-1933. Her publications analyze the historical relationship between technological innovation and sensory modernity, particularly in urban environments.

• Scientific Awards:
  • MacArthur Fellow (2005)

She has secured significant grants from institutions including the National Endowment for the Humanities, National Science Foundation, and Guggenheim Foundation. Thompson previously worked as an engineer at Bell Laboratories before transitioning to academia.