Sheila Jasanoff Named Winner of the 2018 Albert O. Hirschman Prize

The Social Science Research Council (SSRC), in collaboration with the Institute for Advanced Study, will award the 2018 Albert O. Hirschman Prize, its highest honor, to Sheila Jasanoff, Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

The award ceremony, to be held on Friday, November 30, at the Harold Pratt House, 58 East 68th Street, New York, will include a lecture by Jasanoff on “Theory, Critique, and Discipline in a Post-Truth Age.” Those interested in attending are welcome to RSVP here.

During her career, Jasanoff has made invaluable contributions to scholarship and field-building, contributing to public discourse and deliberative democracy. The nominating committee for this year’s prize described Jasanoff as an “intellectual whose interdisciplinary work has charted new territory and established the grounds for a new field inside the social sciences.”

“The Institute for Advanced Study is proud to congratulate Sheila Jasanoff on her selection to receive this prestigious award that represents her unique and profound commitment to public service, groundbreaking research, and innovation,” said Robbert Dijkgraaf, Institute Director and Leon Levy Professor. “As a leader and synthesizer of various fields of study, Jasanoff’s work affirms the legacy of Albert O. Hirschman, embracing the values of our democracy and cross-disciplinary problem solving.”

The prize's namesake, Albert O. Hirschman, came to the Institute as a Member in the School of Social Science in 1972, became a Professor in 1974, and remained on the IAS Faculty until his death in 2012. Renowned in the field of social science, Hirschman contributed highly influential work in economics and politics in developing countries that has had a profound impact on economic thought and practice in the United States and beyond.

The biennial Hirschman Prize is awarded to scholars who have made outstanding contributions to international, interdisciplinary social science research, theory, and public communication.

Read more about the prize here.