Bruce E. Seely

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Comparative Technology Transfer and Society
Founding Co-Editor in ChiefAppointed: 2002
Michigan Technological University
College of Sciences and Arts
Social Sciences
Department ChairAppointed: 2002
Professional Headshot of Bruce E. Seely

Mailing Address

Department of Social Sciences
Michigan Technological University
1400 Townsend Drive
Houghton, Michigan 49931-1295
United States

Contact Information

Phone: (906) 487-2113
Fax: (906) 487-2468
bseely@mtu.edu
http://www.social.mtu.edu/people/bseely.htm

Qualifications

Ph.D., University of Delaware, History of Technology, 1982.
M.A., University of Delaware, History of Technology, 1977.
B.A., St. Lawrence University, History, 1975.

Expertise and Research Interests

All interests revolve around the historical strudy of engineering and technology, with a pimary focus upon activities within the United States. Specific topics on which I have conducted research and published include the history of engineering education and research; transportation, including roads (with specific attention to highway engineering) and railroads; and the American iron and steel industry in the 19th and 20th centuries. Other interests include technology transfer, and the societal implications of emerging science and technology -- especially nanotechnology.

Other Expertise

Co-editor in chief of the journal, Comparative Technology Transfer and Society (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002- ).

Future Research

Book manuscript: American Transportation Policy, 1920-1989, under contract to Ohio State University Press.

Other projects:
Book-length history of American engineering education, with Terry Reynolds.

History of the Adirondack Iron and Steel Company and its successors.

Industrial Relevance

I have consulted for the federal government and for consulting and engineering firms on issues related to the history of American highways, road construction, and highway policy, and on matters related to the historical significance of features of the American highway system. I have been a consultant for several television documentaries on roads and transportation; and for the news media on a range of issues dealing with historical and contemporary issues in technology. I also have consulted for museusmon exhibit issues related to transportation and to iron and steel.

Keywords

COS Keywords:

Engineering Education, History of Science and Technology, Social Sciences.

Memberships

American Society for Engineering Education
Business History Conference
History of Science Society
Organization of American Historians
Public Works Historical Society
Society for Industrial Archaeology
Society for the History of Technology

Honors and Awards

2000, William Elgin Wickenden Award, American Society for Engineering Education, Presented for the best article published in the Society's journal during 1999.
1996, Dibner Fellow, Dibner Institute for the History of Science and Technology
1990, Copper Scroll Award, Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honorary, Michigan Technological University, Presented for service to the university
1988, Abel Wolman Award, Public Works Historical Society/American Public Works Association, Presented for the best book in public works history published during the previous year.
1987, Abbott Payson Usher Award, Society for the History of Technology, Presented for the best book published in the society's journal during the previous three years.
1987, Railroad History Award, Railway and Locomotive Historical Society, Presented for the best article in the field.
1984, Norton Prize, Society for Industrial Archaeology, Presented for the best article published in the society's journal.
1975-1980, Hagley Fellowship, Hagley Musuem and Library, University of Delaware, Graduate fellowship in the history of technology

Previous Positions

Present-1997, Department Chair and Professor of History, Michigan Technological University, College of Sciences and Arts, History of Science, Technology and Society
2000-2002, Program Director for Science and Technology Studies, National Science Foundation
1997-2000, University Senate President, Michigan Technological University
1988-1997, Associate Professor, Michigan Technological University, College of Sciences and Arts, Social Sciences, History and of Science, Technology and Society
1986-1988, Assistant Professor, Michigan Technological University, College of Sciences and Arts, Social Sciences
1981-1986, Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University, History
1976-1978, Historian (Summer), Historic American Engineering Record, National Park Service

Funding Received

  • National Science Foundation (NSF): NUE: Undergraduate Exploration of Nano-science, Applications, and Societal Implications' (co-PI), $100,000, Jun 1, 2003 to May 31, 2004.
  • National Science Foundation (NSF): History of Engineering Education in the United States,' (co-PI with Terry Reynolds), $120,000, 1990 to 1992.
  • National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH): Travel to Collections Grant, $500, 1989 to .
  • National Science Foundation (NSF): Engineering Education in Land-grant Colleges: A History of Engineering Experiment Stations, $10,414, 1987 to .
  • National Science Foundation (NSF): Dissertation Improvement Grant: Highway Engineers as Policy Makers, $7,000, 1980 to 1981.

Publications

  • Bruce E.Seely, 'NSF and the Philosophy of Chemistry', Annals of the New York Academy of Science, 98(Chemical Explanation), 370-76, May 2003
  • Bruce E. Seely, “Historical Patterns in the Scholarship of Technology Transfer”, Comparative Technology Transfer and Society, 1, 7-48, April 2003
  • Bruce E. Seely, “Francis C. Turner, 'Father Of The U.S. Interstate Highway System': An Historical Appreciation”, TRB News, 213, 5-14, March 2001
  • Bruce E. Seely, 'The 'Imbalance' of Theory and Practice in American Engineering Education: Reforms and Changes, 1920-1980', ICON, 5, 41-63, 2000
  • Bruce E. Seely, 'The Other Re-engineering of Engineering Education, 1900-1965', Journal of Engineering Education, 88(3), 285-94, July 1999
  • Bruce E. Seely, "European Contributions to American Engineering Education: Blending Old and New,", Quaderns d'Histoira del'Enginyeria, 3, 29-50, 1999
  • Bruce E. Seely, 'Der americanishe Blick auf die deutschen Autobahnen. Deutsche und americanische Autobahnbauer 1930-1965', Werkstatt Geschichte, 21, 11-28, December 1998
  • Bruce E. Seely, 'Urban Freeway Development and the Bureau of Public Roads, 1930-1950', SCA (Society for Commercial Archeology) Journal, 15, 12-20, Spring 1997
  • Bruce E. Seely, 'SHOT, the History of Technology and Engineering Education', Technology and Culture, 36, 739-72, October 1995
  • Bruce E. Seely, 'Back to the Future? High Speed Rail and Historical Patterns of American Transportation Development', Railroad History, Bulletin No. 170, 5-14, Spring 1994
  • Bruce E. Seely, Encyclopedia of American Business History and Biography: The Iron and Steel Industry in the 20th Century, (Bruccoli Clark Layman/Facts on File), 1994
  • Terry Reynolds and Bruce E. Seely, 'Striving for Balance: A Hundred Years of the American Society for Engineering Education', Engineering Education, 82, 136-51, July 1993
  • Bruce E. Seely, 'Research, Engineering, and Science in American Engineering Colleges, 1900-1960', Technology and Culture, 34, 344-386, April 1993
  • Bruce E. Seely, 'The Saga of American Infrastructure: A Republic Bound Together', Wilson Quarterly, 17, 18-39, Winter 1993
  • 'The Highway Research Board and the Federal-Aid Highway Program: A Cooperative Partnership', TR News, 150, 9-14, September 1990
  • Mark Rose amd Bruce E. Seely, 'Getting the Interstate System Built: Road Engineers and the Implementation of Public Policy, 1955-1985', Journal of Policy History, 2, 23-56, Winter 1990
  • Bruce E. Seely, Building the America Highway System: Engineers as Policy Makers, (Temple University Press), 1987
  • Bruce E. Seely, 'Railroads, Good Roads, and Motor Vehicles: Managing Technological Change', Railroad History, Bulletin No. 155, 35-63, Autumn 1986
  • Bruce E. Seely, 'The Scientific Mystique in Engineering: Highway Research in the Bureau of Public Roads, 1918-1940', Technology and Culture, 25, 798-831, October 1984
  • Bruce E. Seely, 'Engineers and Government-Business Cooperation: Highway Standards and the Bureau of Public Roads, 1900-1940', Business History Review, 58, 51-77, Spring 1984
  • Bruce E. Seely, 'Blast Furnace Technology in the Nineteenth Century: A Case Study,', IA: Journal of the Society for Industrial Archaeology, 7, 27-54, Summer 1980
  • Bruce E. Seely, 'Wilmington and Its Railroads: A Lasting Economic Connection', Delaware History, 19, 1-19, Summer 1980

Profile Details

Last Updated: 3/16/2008

COS Expertise ID #328388
Reference this profile directly: http://myprofile.cos.com/seely4