Harriet Zuckerman
Encyclopedia
Harriet Zuckerman is an American
sociologist who specializes in the sociology of science
. She is Senior Vice President of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
and professor emerita of Columbia University
.
and Ph.D. from Columbia University
. She was professor of sociology at Columbia and chaired the department in 1978-82.
In 1991 she joined the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
, of which she is the Senior Vice President.
Zuckerman's research has focused on the social organization of science and scholarship. She is the author of the 1979 book, Scientific Elite: Nobel Laureates in the United States. This book, in addition to being a study of a scientific elite, constitutes a fascinating introduction to the phenomenon of multiple independent discoveries, particularly in science
and technology
. Its results, particularly in relation to "accumulation of advantage", are relevant to the question of eminence, exceptional achievement, and greatness
.
Zuckerman was married to the late sociologist of science, Robert K. Merton
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sociologist who specializes in the sociology of science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
. She is Senior Vice President of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York City and Princeton, New Jersey in the United States, is a private foundation with five core areas of interest, endowed with wealth accumulated by the late Andrew W. Mellon of the Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the product of the 1969...
and professor emerita of Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
.
Life
Harriet Zuckerman received her A.B. degree from Vassar CollegeVassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
and Ph.D. from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. She was professor of sociology at Columbia and chaired the department in 1978-82.
In 1991 she joined the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York City and Princeton, New Jersey in the United States, is a private foundation with five core areas of interest, endowed with wealth accumulated by the late Andrew W. Mellon of the Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the product of the 1969...
, of which she is the Senior Vice President.
Zuckerman's research has focused on the social organization of science and scholarship. She is the author of the 1979 book, Scientific Elite: Nobel Laureates in the United States. This book, in addition to being a study of a scientific elite, constitutes a fascinating introduction to the phenomenon of multiple independent discoveries, particularly in science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
. Its results, particularly in relation to "accumulation of advantage", are relevant to the question of eminence, exceptional achievement, and greatness
Greatness
Since the publication of Francis Galton’s Hereditary Genius in 1869, and especially with the accelerated development of intelligence tests in the early 1900s, there has been a vast amount of social scientific research published relative to the question of ‘greatness’...
.
Zuckerman was married to the late sociologist of science, Robert K. Merton
Robert K. Merton
Robert King Merton was a distinguished American sociologist. He spent most of his career teaching at Columbia University, where he attained the rank of University Professor...
.