Allison Marsh

Allison Marsh (Senior Member, IEEE) received her BS in engineering from Swarthmore College and her PhD in the History of Science, Medicine, and Technology from Johns Hopkins University.  She is currently Associate Professor of history and the Co-Director of the Ann Johnson Institute for Science, Technology & Society at the University of South Carolina.  Her research focuses on how the general public comes to understand complex engineering ideas through informal education, specifically in museum settings.  She sees history as a Trojan horse to get people interested in learning more about how engineering affects society.  Before coming to UofSC, she was Curator and the Winton M. Blount Research Chair at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum

     Dr. Marsh is a contributing editor to IEEE’s Spectrum and writes the monthly “Past Forward” column.  In 2014 she won the IEEE-USA, Award for Distinguished Literary Contributions furthering Public Understanding and Advancement of the Engineering Profession for work publicizing the Smithsonian’s orphaned engineering collections. She is a vocal advocate for women in STEM and is pioneering the Women in Microwaves oral history project in conjunction with the IEEE History Center.