Susanne Schmidt

Susanne Schmidt is a historian of science and Professor at the Department of History of the University of Basel since 2025. She studied at Humboldt University of Berlin, University of Cambridge (UK), and in Paris, earning her PhD in 2018 from the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at Cambridge. Her academic journey includes research associate positions at Freie Universität Berlin (2018–20), Humboldt University of Berlin (2020–25), and visiting roles at Harvard University, the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, the German Historical Institute in Washington, DC, Columbia University, and Stanford University.

• Research Focus: History of human sciences, psychology/behavioral sciences, gender and science, science and the public, psychological humanities
• Key Publications: Analysis of the 'marshmallow test' origins and the feminist critique of midlife crisis narratives
• Honors: SNSF Starting Grant (2025), Society for the History of Science Research Prize, NTM Journal Article Prize, Berlin University Alliance Career Development Award, Fellowships from Leopoldina, Max Weber Foundation, AHRC, and Kurt Hahn Trust

Her work interrogates how psychological concepts shape societal norms, with recent media attention including interviews on Deutschlandfunk, ORF, and Deutschlandradio discussing her book Midlife Crisis (2025). She actively participates in Basel's interdisciplinary research colloquia and is a member of the Junge Akademie at both the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and the Leopoldina.