Jürgen Renn
Jürgen Renn (born 11 July 1956 in Moers, West Germany) is a German historian of science, and since
2022 Founding Director of the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology in Jena.
Short biography
Renn studied physics at the Free University of Berlin and at the Sapienza University of Rome. In 1987 he
received his Ph.D in mathematical physics from Technische Universität Berlin.[1]
Between 1986 and 1992 he worked as co-editor of the "Collected Papers of Albert Einstein" at Boston
University. Between 1991 and 1996 he co-directed with Peter Damerow the "Arbeitsstelle Albert
Einstein" at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin.
In 1993/94 he was visiting professor at Tel Aviv University and at the ETH Zurich. Since its founding in
1994 Renn was a Director at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG) in Berlin. In
2022, he was appointed Founding Director of the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, which is
based on a concept that emerged from his research on the Anthropocene conducted jointly with a global
research network.[2]
Renn holds an honorary professorship for the history of science at the Humboldt University of Berlin and
at the Free University of Berlin. Since 1998 he is Adjunct Professor for philosophy and physics at Boston
University. He is a member of the Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the International Academy for the
History of Science, and serves on the executive boards of Berlin's German Universities Excellence
Initiative 'Topoi'[3] and the Berliner Antike-Kolleg.
His writings include The Formative Years of Relativity: The History and Meaning of Einstein's Princeton
Lectures (with Hanoch Gutfreund, Princeton University Press, 2017) and The Road to Relativity: The
History and Meaning of Einstein's "The Foundation of General Relativity", Featuring the Original
Manuscript of Einstein's Masterpiece (with Hanoch Gutfreund, Princeton University Press, 2017), and
Einstein on Einstein: Autobiographical and Scientific Reflections (with Hanoch Gutfreund, Princeton
University Press, 2020).[4][5][6]
Scholarly activities
Research and fields of study
Renn's research projects focus on long-term developments of knowledge while taking into account
processes of globalization. His research projects have dealt with the historical development of mechanics
from antiquity until the 20th century. In this context Renn also investigates the origins of mechanics in
China, the transformation of ancient knowledge, and the exchange of knowledge between Europe and
China in the early modern period. A main focus of Renn's research is the history of modern physics,
investigating the origin and development of general theory of relativity, and of quantum theory in
particular. Renn has written about the Anthropocene in relation to the history of knowledge and science.
Digitalization and open access
Since the emergence of the World Wide Web, Renn has advocated for free access to historical sources.[7]
In 1992 he launched an initiative with Peter Damerow and Paolo Galluzzi to create a freely accessible
“Galileo-Einstein Electronic Archive” online. With support from the European Community, he later
founded the ECHO-Initiative (European Cultural Heritage Online) to promote the study of historical
sources online.[8] Renn is one of the initiators of the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in
the Sciences and Humanities[9] and launched the publishing platform Edition Open Access[10] together
with other colleagues from the Max Planck Society.
Exhibitions
Renn has organized several exhibitions in the area of the history of science, technology, and culture. He
has co-organized several exhibitions, including:
2005: Albert Einstein – Chief Engineer of the Universe in the course of the World Year of
Physics 2005, Kronprinzenpalais (Berlin)[11]
2008: Max-Planck – Revolutionär wider Willen, German Museum of Technology (Berlin)[12]
2010: Weltwissen – 300 Jahre Wissenschaften in Berlin, Martin-Gropius-Bau (Berlin)[13]
2013: Archimedes. Art and Invention Science, Capitoline Museums (Rome)[14]
Awards and fellowships
1988: Fellow, Fritz Thyssen Stiftung, Berlin
1988: Fellow, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Rome
1988–1989: Fellow, Institute for Advanced Study, Berlin
1992: Visiting scholar at the Forschungsschwerpunkt "Wissenschaftsgeschichte und
Wissenschaftstheorie" der Gesellschaft für wissenschaftliche Neuvorhaben der Max Planck
Society Berlin
1998: Pirelli Internetional Award
2011: Premio Anassilaos International[15]
2014: Premio Internazionale "Marco & Alberto Ippolito", Sezione cultura[16]
2014: Francis-Bacon-Award[17]
2014: Max Planck Communitas Award[18]
2014: Neuenschwander Prize[19]
2018: Commandino Medal
2023: Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics
Selected publications
Books
The Road to Relativity ([Link] The Road to Relativity:
The History and Meaning of Einstein's "The Foundation of General Relativity"]. Princeton:
Princeton University Press, 2015 (with Hanoch Gutfreund).
Relativity: the Special and the General Theory, 100th Anniversary Edition ([Link]
[Link]/titles/[Link]). Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2015 (with Hanoch
Gutfreund).
Wissensgeschichte der Architektur. Vol. 1: Vom Neolithikum bis zum Alten Orient ([Link]
[Link]/studies/3/[Link]); vol. 2: Vom Alten Ägypten bis zum Antiken
Rom ([Link] vol. 3: Vom Mittelalter bis zur
Frühen Neuzeit ([Link] Studies 3, 4, 5: Max
Planck Research Library in the History and Development of Knowledge. Berlin, Edition
Open Access, 2014 (with Wilhelm Osthues, Hermann Schlimme).
The Equilibrium Controversy. Guidobaldo Del Monte´s Critical Notes on the Mechanics of
Jordanus and Benedetti and Their Historical and Conceptual Background ([Link]
-[Link]/sources/2/[Link]). Berlin: Edition Open Access, 2012 (with Peter
Damerow).
The Globalization of Knowledge in History ([Link]
Berlin: Edition Open Access, 2012
Boltzmann und das Ende des mechanistischen Weltbildes ([Link]
de/pubman/faces/[Link];jsessionid=3ACFC7EB1A54D119629321216C49E7
B3?itemId=escidoc%3A49879%3A7&view=EXPORT) Archived ([Link]
b/20150413213300/[Link]
p;jsessionid=3ACFC7EB1A54D119629321216C49E7B3?itemId=escidoc%3A49879%3A7&
view=EXPORT) 2015-04-13 at the Wayback Machine (Wiener Vorlesungen, Band 130).
Wien: Picus Verlag, 2007.
The Genesis of General Relativity ([Link] 4
Vols. (Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, vol. 250): vol. 1 and 2 (Einstein's Zurich
Notebooks), vol. 3 (Gravitation in the twilight of classical physics – between mechanics, field
theory and astronomy), vol. 4 (Gravitation in the twilight of classical physics – the promise of
mathematics). Dordrecht: Springer, 2007.
Positioning the History of Science ([Link]
(Boston Studies in the Philosophie of Science, vol. 248). Dordrecht: Springer, 2007 (with
Kostas Gavroglu).
Albert Einstein – Ingenieur des Universums ([Link]
3-527-40571-2/). 3 Vols. Berlin: Wiley-VCH, 2006
Auf den Schultern von Riesen und Zwergen: Einsteins unvollendete Revolution ([Link]
[Link]/pubman/faces/[Link]?itemId=escidoc:49649)
Archived ([Link]
e/pubman/faces/[Link]?itemId=escidoc:49649) 2015-04-13 at the Wayback
Machine. Berlin: Wiley-VCH, 2006.
Articles and book chapters
"From the History of Science to the History of Knowledge – and Back," ([Link]
[Link]/doi/10.1111/1600-0498.12075/pdf) in Centaurus 57(1), 2015: 35–53.
"Einstein’s Copernican Revolution," in The Cambridge Companion to Einstein ([Link]
[Link]/us/academic/subjects/philosophy/philosophy-science/cambridge-companion-ei
nstein), edited by Michel Janssen und Christoph Lehner, 38–71. New York: Cambridge
University Press, 2014 (with Robert Rynasiewicz).
"The Globalization of Knowledge in History and its Normative Challenges," ([Link]
de/de/article_id/929) in Rechtsgeschichte/Legal History 2014 (22):52–60.
"Beyond Editions: Historical Sources in the Digital Age," in Internationalität und
Interdisziplinarität der Editionswissenschaft ([Link]
4), edited by Michael Stolz, and Yen-Chun Chen, 9–28. editio / Beihefte 38. Berlin: De
Gruyter, 2014
"Learning from Kushim about the Origin of Writing and Farming," in Grain | Vapor | Ray.
Textures of the Anthropocene ([Link]
the_anthropozaen_grain_vapor_ray.php), edited by Katrin Klingan, Ashkan Sepahvand,
Christoph Rosol und Bernd M. Scherer, 241–259. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2015.
"Schrödinger and the Genesis of Wave Mechanics," in Erwin Schrödinger – 50 Years After
([Link] edited by Wolfgang L. Reiter und
Jakob Yngvason, 9–36. Zurich: European Mathematical Society, 2013.
"The Emergence of Statistical Mechanics," in The Oxford Handbook of the History of
Physics ([Link] edited by Jed Z.
Buchwald und Robert Fox, 765–788. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013 (with Olivier
Darrigol).
"The Transformation of Ancient Mechanics into a Mechanistic World View," in
Transformationen antiker Wissenschaften ([Link]
edited by Georg Toepfer und Hartmut Böhme, 243–267. Transformationen der Antike (http://
[Link]/view/serial/21753), Berlin: De Gruyter, 2010 (with Peter Damerow).
References
1. The Massive Sine-Gordon Equation in Quantum Field Theory and Classical Statistical
Mechanics, Some Rigorous Results
2. "Renn, Jürgen - Geoanthropology" ([Link]
3. "Renn, Jürgen | Topoi" ([Link]
4. Hanoch Gutfreund, Jürgen Renn (2017). The Formative Years of Relativity: The History and
Meaning of Einstein's Princeton Lectures ([Link]
QBAJ&q=%22Hanoch+Gutfreund%22). Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-17463-
1. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
5. Hanoch Gutfreund, Jürgen Renn (2017). The Road to Relativity: The History and Meaning
of Einstein's "The Foundation of General Relativity", Featuring the Original Manuscript of
Einstein's Masterpiece ([Link]
ch+Gutfreund%22). Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-17581-2. Retrieved
21 January 2020.
6. Jürgen Renn, Hanoch Gutfreund (2020). Einstein on Einstein: Autobiographical and
Scientific Reflections ([Link]
+Gutfreund%22). Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-18360-2. Retrieved
21 January 2020.
7. [Link]
and summarizing: Jürgen Renn, "Beyond editions: historical sources in the digital age," in
Internationalität und Interdisziplinarität der Editionswissenschaft, edited by M. Stolz, & Y.-C.
Chen, Berlin: De Gruyter 2014, pp. 9–28.
8. Projects ([Link]
O) [Link]
9. "Archived copy" ([Link]
openaccess%2Dberlin/berlin_declaration.pdf) (PDF). Archived from the original ([Link]
[Link]/openaccess-berlin/berlin_declaration.pdf) (PDF) on 12 May 2011. Retrieved
2 August 2011.
10. "Edition Open Access" ([Link]
11. "Albert Einstein – Ingenieur des Universums" ([Link]
12. "Technikmuseum würdigt Max Planck" ([Link]
5255/[Link]). 26 April 2008.
13. "Katalog – 300 Jahre Wissenschaften in Berlin" ([Link]
10/[Link] Archived from the original
([Link] on 4 March 2016. Retrieved
18 June 2015.
14. "Archimede. Arte e scienza dell'invenzione | Musei Capitolini" ([Link]
g/mostre_ed_eventi/mostre/archimede_arte_e_scienza_dell_invenzione).
15. Claudia Tamiro, "Anassilaos, cultura d’esportazione," in Il Quotidiano (13.11.2011), at
[Link]
16. "Archived copy" ([Link]
mages/documenti/doc2013_2014/articolo_reggio_calabria_premio_ippolito.pdf) (PDF).
Archived from the original ([Link]
icolo_reggio_calabria_premio_ippolito.pdf) (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 18 June
2015.
17. "Jürgen Renn Awarded the 2014 Francis Bacon Prize for Outstanding Scholarship in the
History of Science | [Link]" ([Link]
p://[Link]/content/j-rgen-renn-awarded-2014-francis-bacon-prize-outstanding
-scholarship-history-science). Archived from the original ([Link]
t/j-rgen-renn-awarded-2014-francis-bacon-prize-outstanding-scholarship-history-science) on
9 September 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
18. "Max-Planck-Communitas-Preis" ([Link]
19. "ESHS Neuenschwander Prize – Award and Prize organized by ESHS : European Society
for the History of Science" ([Link]
g/society/neuenschwander-prize). Archived from the original ([Link]
uenschwander-prize) on 11 September 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
External links
Literature by and about Jürgen Renn ([Link]
&cqlMode=true&query=idn%3D121180719) in the German National Library catalogue
Jürgen Renn's website ([Link] at the
MPIWG
Comprehensive list of publications at PubMan ([Link]
sons/resource/303) Archived ([Link]
[Link]/cone/persons/resource/303) 2015-04-13 at the Wayback Machine
Research Projects ([Link]
Archived ([Link]
n/research/projects/departmentRenn) 2015-07-22 at the Wayback Machine of Jürgen Renn
at the MPIWG.
Edition Open Access ([Link]
ECHO ([Link] – Cultural Heritage Online
Virtual exhibition ([Link] Albert Einstein – Chief
Engineer of the Universe
Galileo's notes on motion and mechanics ([Link]
e/[Link])
Video
Video on Jürgen Renn's research (Latest Thinking) ([Link]
torically-describe-evolution-knowledge-and-how-can-we-account-it)
Retrieved from "[Link]
