Cyrus Mody
@ccmmody.bsky.social
historian of sci/tech/energy/enviro @fasosmaastricht.bsky.social; http://nanobubbles.hypotheses.org; http://managingscarcity.com; The Squares https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262543613/the-squares/. Call me Cyrus or Cy or "hey, mister" but not Cirrus or Moody.
Pinned
Cyrus Mody
@ccmmody.bsky.social
· Nov 1
The oil spillover: prospecting for oil in innovation studies and the history of technology
Innovation studies scholars use the concept of ‘spillovers’ to explain how ideas and people move among firms and industries and how regions form industrial clusters. Historians of technology use di...
www.tandfonline.com
have been looking forward to this series for a while, as Katharine Burr Blodgett has been someone I wanted to learn more about ever since I first started looking into the history of surface science, nanotech & corporate research. grateful they interviewed several real experts & also yours truly!
"She's 100% in command of her science. She is an inspiration, but for the duration of her career, Katharine Burr Blodgett worked in Irving Langmuir’s shadow."
Today's #histSTM & #WomenInSTEM lunchtime listen: The premiere episode of @lostwomenofsci.bsky.social's new season, Layers of Brilliance! 🗃️📜
Today's #histSTM & #WomenInSTEM lunchtime listen: The premiere episode of @lostwomenofsci.bsky.social's new season, Layers of Brilliance! 🗃️📜
Layers of Brilliance – Episode One: The Chemical Genius of Katharine Burr Blodgett
Born to a family with a tragic past, Katharine defies the expectations of her upbringing as an upper-middle class girl to make chemistry and physics the center of her life.
www.lostwomenofscience.org
February 2, 2026 at 2:14 PM
have been looking forward to this series for a while, as Katharine Burr Blodgett has been someone I wanted to learn more about ever since I first started looking into the history of surface science, nanotech & corporate research. grateful they interviewed several real experts & also yours truly!
just a reminder - job opening in STS @fasosmaastricht.bsky.social, deadline February 8
we're hiring in STS @fasosmaastricht.bsky.social!
deadline coming up soon (February 8). focus is the social science-y corners of STS preferably w/ some interest in sustainability & environment - but interpreted broadly.
vacancies.maastrichtuniversity.nl/job/Maastric...
deadline coming up soon (February 8). focus is the social science-y corners of STS preferably w/ some interest in sustainability & environment - but interpreted broadly.
vacancies.maastrichtuniversity.nl/job/Maastric...
Assistant Professor Science, Technology and Society Studies
Assistant Professor Science, Technology and Society Studies
vacancies.maastrichtuniversity.nl
January 30, 2026 at 3:24 PM
just a reminder - job opening in STS @fasosmaastricht.bsky.social, deadline February 8
now @moneschleper.bsky.social is the new co-editor of @jhokjournal.bsky.social it's time to once again press the journal to adopt this magnificent bird as its mascot.
would work better if the journal were based at KU Leuven, but we can pretend the letters stand for "kennis uitgelegd" or some such.
would work better if the journal were based at KU Leuven, but we can pretend the letters stand for "kennis uitgelegd" or some such.
January 28, 2026 at 4:33 PM
now @moneschleper.bsky.social is the new co-editor of @jhokjournal.bsky.social it's time to once again press the journal to adopt this magnificent bird as its mascot.
would work better if the journal were based at KU Leuven, but we can pretend the letters stand for "kennis uitgelegd" or some such.
would work better if the journal were based at KU Leuven, but we can pretend the letters stand for "kennis uitgelegd" or some such.
I'll think about it, but it's unlikely I could do the Canadian & environmental history aspects of the story justice. A post on this topic could nicely complement the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry series you did - these islands show just how far oil firms would go to get oil into such a pipeline.
January 28, 2026 at 4:00 PM
I'll think about it, but it's unlikely I could do the Canadian & environmental history aspects of the story justice. A post on this topic could nicely complement the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry series you did - these islands show just how far oil firms would go to get oil into such a pipeline.
hi @nichecanada.bsky.social - any plans to follow up on this 👇? from what I can tell, 37 artificial islands were constructed in the Canadian Beaufort in the 70s by Gulf, Amoco & Imperial to support rigs & protect them from pack ice. a great Canadian #envhist topic!
niche-canada.org/2017/02/15/n...
niche-canada.org/2017/02/15/n...
January 27, 2026 at 9:00 AM
hi @nichecanada.bsky.social - any plans to follow up on this 👇? from what I can tell, 37 artificial islands were constructed in the Canadian Beaufort in the 70s by Gulf, Amoco & Imperial to support rigs & protect them from pack ice. a great Canadian #envhist topic!
niche-canada.org/2017/02/15/n...
niche-canada.org/2017/02/15/n...
this special issue w/ contributions by @jessicareinisch.bsky.social @waqarzaidi.bsky.social @lauracforster.bsky.social & others is a good place to start:
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
The British Journal for the History of Science: Volume 56 - The Art of Gathering: Histories of International Scientific Conferences | Cambridge Core
Cambridge Core - The British Journal for the History of Science - Volume 56 - The Art of Gathering: Histories of International Scientific Conferences
www.cambridge.org
January 26, 2026 at 9:58 AM
this special issue w/ contributions by @jessicareinisch.bsky.social @waqarzaidi.bsky.social @lauracforster.bsky.social & others is a good place to start:
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
for all their dislike of rootless cosmpolitans, these idiots have zero understanding of local cultures or local conditions.
which means we can probably look forward to surges in New Orleans mid-February, Phoenix early July, Houston early August & Boston late August/early September (&/or ~June 1).
which means we can probably look forward to surges in New Orleans mid-February, Phoenix early July, Houston early August & Boston late August/early September (&/or ~June 1).
January 26, 2026 at 8:05 AM
for all their dislike of rootless cosmpolitans, these idiots have zero understanding of local cultures or local conditions.
which means we can probably look forward to surges in New Orleans mid-February, Phoenix early July, Houston early August & Boston late August/early September (&/or ~June 1).
which means we can probably look forward to surges in New Orleans mid-February, Phoenix early July, Houston early August & Boston late August/early September (&/or ~June 1).
DJT famously uses the pseudonym "John Barron;" we can only assume that "Bruce Couchman" is Vance, right?
January 25, 2026 at 4:48 PM
DJT famously uses the pseudonym "John Barron;" we can only assume that "Bruce Couchman" is Vance, right?
as a (sort of) 3rd-generation Texan living in the Netherlands, I fully endorse this graphic introducing yesterday's EenVandaag segment on US expats fretting about their homeland.
for those interested in watching, click below and go to the time marker in the graphic.
npo.nl/start/afspel...
for those interested in watching, click below and go to the time marker in the graphic.
npo.nl/start/afspel...
January 24, 2026 at 7:08 AM
as a (sort of) 3rd-generation Texan living in the Netherlands, I fully endorse this graphic introducing yesterday's EenVandaag segment on US expats fretting about their homeland.
for those interested in watching, click below and go to the time marker in the graphic.
npo.nl/start/afspel...
for those interested in watching, click below and go to the time marker in the graphic.
npo.nl/start/afspel...
also one of the first mass-appeal Swedish songsters!
January 24, 2026 at 6:58 AM
also one of the first mass-appeal Swedish songsters!
January 23, 2026 at 3:44 PM
the bar does seem to be pretty low
January 23, 2026 at 8:08 AM
the bar does seem to be pretty low
tonight EenVandaag will air (note - obvs usually on NPO1 but b/c of skating today's show is moved to NPO2) a "kitchen table" interview w/ a group of Usonians living in Limburg & Brabant (myself included) ab/ our experience of Trumpism from afar. I'll post a link when it goes up.
January 23, 2026 at 8:03 AM
tonight EenVandaag will air (note - obvs usually on NPO1 but b/c of skating today's show is moved to NPO2) a "kitchen table" interview w/ a group of Usonians living in Limburg & Brabant (myself included) ab/ our experience of Trumpism from afar. I'll post a link when it goes up.
for those of you keeping score - B7 the obvious winner in terms of characters, tho largely on the strength of Avon & Servalan
January 22, 2026 at 3:53 PM
for those of you keeping score - B7 the obvious winner in terms of characters, tho largely on the strength of Avon & Servalan
ah, seems there's more chatter ab/ this than the last time I googled it a few yrs ago. this 👇 essay has it right - Whedon's claims that B7 didn't influence Firefly aren't credible. he was a 16 yr old boy (B7's demographic) living in UK when it was in first runs!
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/no...
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/no...
January 22, 2026 at 3:47 PM
ah, seems there's more chatter ab/ this than the last time I googled it a few yrs ago. this 👇 essay has it right - Whedon's claims that B7 didn't influence Firefly aren't credible. he was a 16 yr old boy (B7's demographic) living in UK when it was in first runs!
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/no...
strangehorizons.com/wordpress/no...
lots of good insights into what we as individuals & our institutions can do to help each other deal w/ the challenges of conducting research/being scholars in an illiberalizing world - as summarized in these wordclouds generated by our audience:
January 22, 2026 at 11:21 AM
lots of good insights into what we as individuals & our institutions can do to help each other deal w/ the challenges of conducting research/being scholars in an illiberalizing world - as summarized in these wordclouds generated by our audience:
many thanks to everyone who attended the all @fasosmaastricht.bsky.social colloquium on Research in the Age of Trumpism yesterday & especially to panelists @mariellew.bsky.social @matthewarcher.bsky.social Eliza Steinbock & Arjun Sharma plus moderator @blenormand.bsky.social!
January 22, 2026 at 11:19 AM
many thanks to everyone who attended the all @fasosmaastricht.bsky.social colloquium on Research in the Age of Trumpism yesterday & especially to panelists @mariellew.bsky.social @matthewarcher.bsky.social Eliza Steinbock & Arjun Sharma plus moderator @blenormand.bsky.social!
absolutely agree, especially with this paragraph. their climate & energy policies are not *not* related to capitalism, but sometimes you have to tie yourself in knots to make the connection so that it's simpler to explain it w/ concepts like the ones in your essay.
January 22, 2026 at 10:04 AM
absolutely agree, especially with this paragraph. their climate & energy policies are not *not* related to capitalism, but sometimes you have to tie yourself in knots to make the connection so that it's simpler to explain it w/ concepts like the ones in your essay.
to make this #histsci adjacent,
Blake's 7 : Firefly :: Fleck : Kuhn
now that Joss Whedon is, hmm, problematic maybe people will rediscover Blake's 7 in the way that early STSers ran to Fleck in the '70s when Kuhn-fandom similarly proved unsustainable?
Blake's 7 : Firefly :: Fleck : Kuhn
now that Joss Whedon is, hmm, problematic maybe people will rediscover Blake's 7 in the way that early STSers ran to Fleck in the '70s when Kuhn-fandom similarly proved unsustainable?
January 21, 2026 at 1:34 PM
to make this #histsci adjacent,
Blake's 7 : Firefly :: Fleck : Kuhn
now that Joss Whedon is, hmm, problematic maybe people will rediscover Blake's 7 in the way that early STSers ran to Fleck in the '70s when Kuhn-fandom similarly proved unsustainable?
Blake's 7 : Firefly :: Fleck : Kuhn
now that Joss Whedon is, hmm, problematic maybe people will rediscover Blake's 7 in the way that early STSers ran to Fleck in the '70s when Kuhn-fandom similarly proved unsustainable?
rewatched Firefly recently & struck again that AFAIK no one commented @ the time or since that it's just warmed-over Blake's 7! but now they're rebooting Blake's 7 surely someone will point out that it's just warmed-over Firefly 🤔?
www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/bl...
www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/bl...
Beloved '70s BBC sci-fi series from Daleks creator confirmed for reboot with Doctor Who director
This is not a drill!
www.radiotimes.com
January 21, 2026 at 1:31 PM
rewatched Firefly recently & struck again that AFAIK no one commented @ the time or since that it's just warmed-over Blake's 7! but now they're rebooting Blake's 7 surely someone will point out that it's just warmed-over Firefly 🤔?
www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/bl...
www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/bl...
neither neighbor wants this, so all sympathies to them. FIL is perplexing - owes his career & family to NATO, was at one point willing to die for it, but now willing to see it break up b/c ... b/c Jimmy Carter was history's greatest monster, I guess?
January 16, 2026 at 12:43 PM
neither neighbor wants this, so all sympathies to them. FIL is perplexing - owes his career & family to NATO, was at one point willing to die for it, but now willing to see it break up b/c ... b/c Jimmy Carter was history's greatest monster, I guess?
crazy that my former neighbor, a Danish admiral & proud NATO officer, may be preparing Greenland's defense against my current neighbor, a USAF pilot & proud NATO officer, while my FIL, a former US Army pilot & proud NATO officer, thinks this situation is fine!
January 16, 2026 at 12:39 PM
crazy that my former neighbor, a Danish admiral & proud NATO officer, may be preparing Greenland's defense against my current neighbor, a USAF pilot & proud NATO officer, while my FIL, a former US Army pilot & proud NATO officer, thinks this situation is fine!
pro tip: if you gotta write an email during a meeting, the person at the other end of that email won't know you're typing emphatically, but everyone in the meeting will.
January 15, 2026 at 9:34 AM
pro tip: if you gotta write an email during a meeting, the person at the other end of that email won't know you're typing emphatically, but everyone in the meeting will.
an unexpectedly difficult figure to research because of this:
January 8, 2026 at 2:30 PM
an unexpectedly difficult figure to research because of this: