David Spanagel

Associate Professor
AFFILIATED DEPARTMENT OR OFFICE
American Studies
Environmental Studies
History
Science & Technology
EDUCATION
BA Oberlin College 1982
MSEd University of Rochester 1984
PhD Harvard University 1996
Expert Bio

Professor Spanagel is especially interested in the history of science, particularly in its patterns of past interactions with various belief systems, corporations, creativity, culture, economics, engineering principles, aesthetics and the fine arts, the human intellect, influences upon or from literature, things like medical or military applications, political power, technology, and/or virtually any other aspect of human social activity and social structure.

HuffPost
Who was the real Oppenheimer?

Humanities & arts professor David Spanagel shared his insight on the history of atomic bomb development with HuffPost. Spanagel explains how the 'father of the atomic bomb', Julius Robert Oppenheimer, failed to question whether it was the right thing to do for humanity. 

ScienceNews
Marie Tharp’s groundbreaking maps brought the seafloor to the world

David Spanagel, associate professor of humanities & arts, was quoted in the Science News article, “Marie Tharp’s groundbreaking maps brought the seafloor to the world.” “That’s why her map is so powerful,” Spanagel told the publication. “It allows people to see the bottom of the ocean as if it were a piece of land, and then reason about it. That’s a transformative thing that she’s able to accomplish.”

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