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Matthew Stanley

Professor
ms5100@nyu.edu
(212) 992-7752

Office Hours
Tuesday 11:00 TO 12:30
Wednesday 10:00 TO 2:00

M.A., Astronomy, Harvard University
B.Sc. & B.A., Optical Engineering, University of Rochester, 1998
Ph.D., History of Science, Harvard University, 2004

Matthew Stanley teaches and researches the history and philosophy of science. He holds degrees in astronomy, religion, physics, and the history of science and is interested in the connections between science and the wider culture. He is the author of Einstein's War: How Relativity Triumphed Amid the Vicious Nationalism of World War I (Dutton, 2019), the story of how pacifism and friendship led to a scientific revolution. He has also written Practical Mystic: Religion, Science, and A. S. Eddington (Chicago 2007) and Huxley's Church and Maxwell's Demon (Chicago 2014), which explore the complex relationships between science and religion in history. His current project is a history of scientific predictions of the end of the world. Stanley has also worked with a nationwide National Science Foundation-funded effort to use the humanities to improve science education in the college classroom. He has held fellowships at the Institute for Advanced Study, the British Academy, and the Max Planck Institute. He currently runs the New York City History of Science Working Group. In his spare time, he co-hosts the science podcast What the If? Stanley was awarded the 2019 NYU Distinguished Teaching Award and the 2014-2015 Gallatin Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching.   

Awards & Honors

2021

Matthew Stanley Awarded the Watson Davis and Helen Miles Davis Prize

Einstein’s War (Dutton, 2019) by Matthew Stanley was awarded the Watson Davis and Helen Miles Davis Prize from the History of Science Society for the best book intended for a general audience.

Books

2019

Einstein's War

Matthew Stanley’s Einstein’s War: How Relativity Triumphed Amid the Vicious Nationalism of World War I was published by Penguin Random House Dutton.

2014

Huxley’s Church & Maxwell’s Demon: From Theistic Science to Naturalistic Science

Matthew Stanley's Huxley’s Church & Maxwell’s Demon: From Theistic Science to Naturalistic Science was published by University of Chicago Press.

2007

Practical Mystic: Religion, Science, and A. S. Eddington

Matthew Stanley's Practical Mystic: Religion, Science, and A. S. Eddington was published by University of Chicago Press.

Teaching and Research Interests

history of science and technology; science and religion; physics and astronomy; philosophy of science; history and philosophy of religion  mind and consciousness; science education; peace and war 

Matthew Stanley