Robin E. Rider

Robin E. Rider serves as Curator of Special Collections at UW-Madison Memorial Library and Senior Lecturer in the History of Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, bridging academic scholarship with library curation through dual expertise in historical research and rare materials preservation.

Dr. Rider's educational background includes:

• Ph.D. in History, University of California, Berkeley, 1980
• M.A. in Mathematics, University of California, Berkeley, 1974
• B.S. in Mathematics, Stanford University, 1972

Research focuses on the intersection of history of science (particularly early modern science) and history of the book, with emphasis on material culture of scientific texts during transformative periods. Key areas include:

• History of Science
• Early Modern Science
• History of the Book
• Scientific Revolution
• Enlightenment Science

Teaching encompasses foundational courses such as Hist Sci 323 (The Scientific Revolution), Hist Sci 324 (Science in the Enlightenment), Hist Sci 623 (Studies in Early Modern Science), and SLIS 839 (Special Collections), integrating primary source materials from Memorial Library's collections into pedagogy.

Rider's work uniquely connects archival curation with academic instruction, leveraging special collections to advance understanding of scientific development through physical artifacts and textual history.