Tiffany Nichols
Assistant Professor of History and Civil and Environmental Engineering; Legacy Survey of Space and Time Discovery Alliance Catalyst Faculty Fellow
College of Engineering
Tiffany Nichols is a historian of science, technology, and the environment. Her current book manuscript focuses on the siting history of large-scale instruments and science facilities, such as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), and how surrounding natural and built environments become embedded within the outputs of these instruments. Specifically, she explores how physicists distinguish gravitational wave signal from noise generated by the instrument and its surrounding environment. Broadly, she is interested in research topics at the intersection of history, science, technology, environment, and law. Nichols holds a joint appointment between the Department of History in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the College of Engineering. She is currently a Legacy Survey of Space and Time Discovery Alliance Catalyst Faculty Fellow. Dr. Nichols was recently featured on PBS’s Nova, which you can watch here.
Legacy Survey of Space and Time Catalyst Fellow
National Science Foundation Award Grantee
Two-time awardee of the Five Sigma Physicist Award issued by American Physical Society
(forthcoming) “‘One of the best sites on the East Coast’: When LIGO Might Have Been in the Blueberry Barrens of Maine,” Isis 116, no. 3 (2025).
Professional Associations
American Historical Association
American Astronomical Society
American Physical Society
American Society for Environment History
History of Science Society
Society for the History of Technology
Professional Leadership
Early-Career Representative, History and Philosophy of Science (L), American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2025-Present
Vice-Chair, American Astronomical Society, History of Astronomy Division, 2025-Present
Co-Vice Chair of the Policy [[Division]], American Astronomical Society, Committee for the Protection of Astronomy and the Space Environment, 2024-Present
Member, American Astronomical Society, Committee for the Protection of Astronomy and the Space Environment, 2024-Present
Member-at-large, American Physical Society, Forum on the History of Philosophy and Physics, 2021-2024
Committee Member, Earth and Environmental Forum, History of Science Society, 2021-2024
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Education
PhD, History of Science, Harvard University
JD, University of Virginia -
Contact
History of Technology
HIST 2220
Offers an interdisciplinary survey of the global history of science and technology. Explores how scientific and technical knowledge, processes, and innovations developed and circulated. Examines how science and technology both shaped and responded to society, culture, ethics, and thought. NUpath: Engaging Difference and Diversity Understanding Societies and Institutions
