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CORVALLIS, Ore. – Paul Farber, a distinguished professor of the history of science at Oregon State University who chairs the OSU Department of History, is the new vice president of the History of Science Society.

He automatically will become the president of the society after completing his two-year term as vice president.

“I am hoping to use my administrative experience gained at OSU to help organize the day-to-day running of the society, and to help promote the study of the history of science nationally and internationally,” Farber said.

The History of Science Society is the world’s largest organization dedicated to understanding science, technology, medicine, and their interactions with society in historical context. More than 3,000 individual and institutional members across the world support the society’s mission to foster interest in the history of science and its social and cultural relations.

Several society-sponsored initiatives carry advanced knowledge about the history of science to the wider world, including its flagship publication, “Isis,” which is the widest circulation journal in the history of science. The society holds an annual meeting, at which several hundred scholars present and discuss cutting-edge research on the cultural relationships and historical development of scientific practices, theories, and technologies.

Farber also was recently elected for a four-year term to the steering committee of Section L (History and Philosophy of Science) of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He previously served for eight years as the secretary of that section.

In addition to professional work for societies, Farber is the editor-in-chief of the Journal of the History of Biology, the major journal that covers the history of the life sciences and its cultural interactions.