Laboratory for the History of Science and Technology

The Laboratory for the History of Science and Technology (LHST) at EPFL was founded in 2019. As a team, we seek to understand the transformations of science and technology within their historical, cultural, and social contexts. Although our research focuses primarily on the past—from the seventeenth century onward—we share a strong interest in contemporary developments in science and technology. We are keen to collaborate with scientists and engineers, as well as with sociologists and anthropologists, to better understand how science and technology shape, and are shaped by, the world today.

Our research interests include the role of diverse media—texts, images, models, and instruments—in the making of science and technology; the history of intellectual property; the history of the digital; and the relationships between technology and the environment. In both our research and our teaching, we actively experiment with new methods and tools drawn from the digital humanities and related fields. We also share a strong commitment to all forms of public history.

In addition, the Laboratory curates the scientific instrument collections of the University of Lausanne (UNIL) and EPFL. Comprising approximately 1,100 artifacts, these collections reflect more than two centuries of scientific research and teaching in the Lausanne region.