TY - JOUR
T1 - Co-authorship in Chemistry at the Turn of the 20th Century
T2 - The Case of Theodore W. Richards
AU - Wray, K. Brad
PY - 2024/4
Y1 - 2024/4
N2 - It is widely recognized that conceptual and theoretical innovations and the employment of new instruments and experimental techniques are important factors in explaining the growth of scientific knowledge in chemistry. This study examines another dimension of research in chemistry, collaboration and co-authorship. I focus specifically on Theodore Richards’ career and publications. During the period in which Richards worked, co-authorship was beginning to become more common than it had been previously. Richards was the first American chemist to be awarded a Nobel Prize and he was at the forefront in this new trend in chemistry. He collaborated more than was typical for his time, with many scientists, in different sized groups, and he often had persistent collaborative relationships, extending over a number of years. Further, it appears that these collaborations benefited Richards, his collaborators, and the field of chemistry as a whole.
AB - It is widely recognized that conceptual and theoretical innovations and the employment of new instruments and experimental techniques are important factors in explaining the growth of scientific knowledge in chemistry. This study examines another dimension of research in chemistry, collaboration and co-authorship. I focus specifically on Theodore Richards’ career and publications. During the period in which Richards worked, co-authorship was beginning to become more common than it had been previously. Richards was the first American chemist to be awarded a Nobel Prize and he was at the forefront in this new trend in chemistry. He collaborated more than was typical for his time, with many scientists, in different sized groups, and he often had persistent collaborative relationships, extending over a number of years. Further, it appears that these collaborations benefited Richards, his collaborators, and the field of chemistry as a whole.
KW - collaboration
KW - co-authorship
KW - Theodore Richards
KW - scientific publication
KW - chemistry
KW - atomic weight
U2 - 10.1007/s10698-023-09491-w
DO - 10.1007/s10698-023-09491-w
M3 - Journal article
SN - 1386-4238
VL - 26
SP - 75
EP - 88
JO - Foundations of Chemistry: Philosophical, Historical, Educational and Interdisciplinary Studies of Chemistry
JF - Foundations of Chemistry: Philosophical, Historical, Educational and Interdisciplinary Studies of Chemistry
IS - 1
M1 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10698-023-09491-w
ER -