Living with Radiation
Examining the IAEA’s role in the History of Radiation Protection (HRP-IAEA) turns our attention to the history of nuclear diplomacy as a means for understanding how our scientific knowledge about radiation protection has been shaped by diplomatic, social, economic, and political concerns. The main actor is the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the focus is on its role in shaping radiation standards throughout the Cold War. Our research marks a diplomatic turn in the history of science. HRP-IAEA is a Horizon 2020 funded European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant project led by Prof. Dr. Maria Rentetzi and hosted by Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg.
How did the IAEA, a diplomatic and political international organization, come to dominate scientific institutions with a long tradition in radiation protection?
our goals
Science Diplomacy – New Book Series edited by Maria Rentetzi
Science Diplomacy – Studies in the Historical Entanglement of Science, Technology and Diplomacy This series seeks to place the relation among science, technology and diplomacy within a historical perspective. Works in the series may focus on the complexities of the tangled relationship between two intrinsically valued practices, the scientific and the diplomatic. Particular attention is […]
The history of the IAEA Safety Standards and the present services for enhancing their footprint for safety
Prof. Dr. Maria Rentetzi will be part of a panel discussion with officials of the IAEA and other leading experts and will discuss the evolution of the Standards from various perspectives including the IAEA’s role in their development, their practical use in Member States and their dissemination. With this in mind, the panel will examine […]
The Post-War history of Atomic Energy in Denmark
Why was Denmark so slow to adapt Nuclear Energy, when the country housed one of the biggest nuclear scientists ever, Niels Bohr? In the second half of 2021, our postdoctoral fellow Aske Hennelund Nielsen was consulted and appeared as an on-camera expert for the documentary “Niels Bohrs Hemmelighed” (English: Niels Bohr’s Secret) for Danish Broadcasting […]
International History of Radiation Protection
As a unique technoscientific and diplomatic organization, the IAEA embodies the defining feature of post-WWII nuclear research: political collaboration on an international level became the precondition for any international scientific cooperation.
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The Historical Relations of the IAEA to Other Regulatory Agencies
In the late 1950s the UN started to develop an international regulatory system for managing ionizing radiation risks based heavily on the geopolitical division of the world.
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Standardization and Implementation
The conceptual analysis of standardization is key to understanding scientific work at the interface of laboratory and clinical or industrial practice.
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Feel free to contact us if you have any questions!
Address
Maria Rentetzi
Werner von Siemens Strasse 61
91052 Erlangen
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HRP-IAEA has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program.
Grant Agreement number: 770548 — HRP-IAEA — ERC-2017-COG
