At a conference on the history of science and diplomacy in Paris, Matthew Adamson talked about the history of uranium exploration and mining in the nuclear age. He had a mercator map of the world with all known uranium deposits as part his presentation.
At a break, we had a chance to talk about the interplay between resource maps and the people who use them. As the maps become more detailed and more reliable, they exert influence on those who use them. When I worked for a global chemical company, the map of actual and potential raw material became a big part of business growth meetings. Each potential source of uranium can be a source of peaceful power or weapons. Adamson's map has business, regulatory and threat dimensions.
At lunch we talked about he came to be Director of Academic and Student Affairs at McDaniel College's campus in Budapest, Hungary, as well as External Researcher at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Budapest advising on the history and institutional context of use of radioisotopes.
Adamson studied French and French literature at James Madison University, graduating in 1996, then began a PhD program at Indiana University in the history and philosophy of science and technology. He completed the program in 2005. But in 2001 he had moved to France as part of his doctoral studies and met his future wife, who was from Budapest.
She got a job in Budapest in 2005. Matthew followed and found a post at an McDaniel College Budapest and has been there ever since.
I hope to see Matthew at a future conference, or possibly if my future travels take me through Budapest.
The conference was organized by the Science History Institute at La Maison de la Chimie.
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