Francesca Rochberg

Francesca Rochberg is the Catherine and William L. Magistretti Distinguished Professor of Near Eastern Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and affiliated with the Office for the History of Science and Technology. She is also associated with the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG) in Berlin, where she is working on a book exploring the demarcation of science and its historiographical impact.

Her research focuses on the History and Philosophy of Science, particularly in the context of Near Eastern and Hellenistic antiquity. Key areas include celestial divination, cuneiform epistemology, and cross-cultural scientific transmission.

Her recent publications span topics in ancient astronomy and knowledge systems, reflecting interdisciplinary engagement with material culture, textual analysis, and scientific rationality in antiquity.

• Guggenheim Fellow (1993–1994)
• MacArthur Fellow (1982–1987)
• John Frederick Lewis Award (1999)