Helge Kragh is Professor of History of Science and Technology, Department of Science Studies, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark. Other distinctions include: President (2008-2010) of the European Society of History of Science; member of the the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, the European Academy of Science, and the Académie Internationale d’Histoire des Sciences; Knight of the Dannebrogsorden.
Professor Kragh’s academic research interests are in the history of modern physical sciences, including chemistry, astronomy, physics and cosmology; historical interactions between science and religion; philosophical aspects of science; and science-technology relations.
In the science-religion field Professor Kragh is especially interested in cosmology and religion through the ages; thermodynamics and religion; the age of the Earth in relation to Biblical chronology; the scholastic synthesis of science and religion. He has written several books, articles and lectures on these topics. He is a board member of the Science-Theology Dialogue Forum (a Danish organization).
Recent selected publications in history of science
- Higher Speculations: Grand Theories and Failed Revolutions in Physics and Cosmology (Oxford: Oxford University Press; to be published January 2011).
- "Continual fascination: The oscillating universe in modern cosmology," Science in Context 22 (2009, 587-612.
- "Contemporary history of cosmology and the controversy over the multiverse," Annals of Science 66 (2009), 529-552.
- "The spectrum of the Aurora Borealis: from enigma to laboratory science," Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences 39 (2009), 377-417.
- "Styles of science and engineering: The case of early long-distance telephony," Centaurus 51 (2009), 175-188.
- "The solar element: A reconsideration of helium’s early history." Annals of Science 66 (2009), 157-182.
- "From disulfiram to antabuse: The invention of a drug." Bulletin for the History of Chemistry 33 (2008), 82-93.
- The Moon that Wasn’t: The Saga of Venus’ Spurious Satellite (Basel: Birkhäuser Verlag, 2008).
- "Cosmic radioactivity and the age of the universe, 1900-1930," Journal for the History of Astronomy 38 (2007), 393-412.
- "The context of discovery: Lemaître and the origin of the primeval-atom universe," Annals of Science 64 (2007), 445-470 [with Dominique Lambert].
Recent selected publications in science and religion
- "An anthropic myth: Fred Hoyle’s carbon-12 resonance level." Archive for History of Exact Sciences (2010). DOI: 10.1007/s00407-010-0068-8.
- "On modern cosmology and its place in science education." Science & Education (2010). DOI: 10.1007/s11191-010-9271-x.
- "Tro og viden: Konflikt eller harmoni?" s. 61-68 i Lars Becker-Larsen m.fl., En Ny Himmel: Verdensbilleder fra Kugleskaller til Kvanteskum (Århus: Aarhus Universitetsforlag, 2009) [in Danish; on relations between faith and science].
- Entropic Creation. Religious Contexts of Thermodynamics and Cosmology (London: Ashgate, 2008).
- "Natural philosophy, theology, and cosmology: The emergence of a new world picture," pp. 47-58 in George N. Vlahakis, ed., Notions of Physics in Natural Philosophy (Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2008).
- "Pierre Duhem, entropy, and Catholic faith." Perspectives in Physics 10 (2008), 379-395.
- "From entropy to a divinely created universe – a forgotten theme in the history of science and theology," pp. 61-77 in H. Kragh, ed., Theology and Science: Issues for Future Dialogue (Aarhus: University of Aarhus, 2007).
- "En dybt religiøs ikke-troende," pp. 54-66 in R. Engelhardt, ed., Tankestreger – Tværvidenskabelige Nybrud (Copenhagen: Danish School of Education Press, 2007) [in Danish; on Einstein’s religiosity]
- Matter and Spirit in the Universe: Scientific and Religious Preludes to Modern Cosmology (London: Imperial College Press, 2004).
- Universet i Perspektiv: Kosmologi, Filosofi og Teologi (Copenhagen: Fremad, 2001) [in Danish; on cosmology, philosophy and theology].
