L. & A. Birkenmajer Institute for the History of Science of the Polish Academy of Sciences

The research areas pursued in the unit’s seven laboratories include: science studies (research on the theoretical foundations of science, its history, methodology, and systematics), the history of ancient books and written culture in the Middle Ages and early modern times (including the online documentation of monuments of this culture), and the history of education and educational culture from the Middle Ages to the present day. IHN PAN researchers also deal with the history of humanistic and social ideas, as well as the history of specific sciences – from the exact sciences (especially astronomy and mathematics), through the natural sciences (medical sciences with pharmacy, botany, geology) to the history of technology and invention.

The unit also includes: the Solar Physics Department in Wrocław, the Astrogeodynamic Observatory in Borówiec near Poznań, the Space Research Scientific Center in Wałbrzych, and the Plasma Physics Team, Laboratory at the Astronomical Observatory in Piwnice near Toruń.

The IHN PAN publishes five journals devoted to the history of science: Analecta, Kwartalnik Historii Nauki i Techniki (Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology), Medycyna Nowożytna (Modern Medicine), and Rozprawy z Dziejów Oświaty (Essays on the History of Education). The last of these journals, Organon, is published exclusively in congress languages, promoting the scientific achievements of the IHN PAN abroad. The IHN PAN also publishes several important series, including both scientific monographs and historical sources.