Hans R. Jenemann Foundation
Hans R. Jenemann (1920–1996), a chemist at Schott Glaswerke in Mainz, became known for his contributions to the history of scientific instruments, especially historical analytical balances.
Paul Bunge (1839–1888) set new standards in the construction of balances as a precision mechanic and engineer.
Established in 1992, the Paul Bunge Prize of the Hans R. Jenemann Foundation is jointly awarded by the GDCh and the German Bunsen Society for physical chemistry (DBG) for work on the history of scientific instruments.
To mark the 30th anniversary of the Paul Bunge Prize, in 2023 the Hans R. Jenemann Foundation invited all previous awardees to reflect together on the topic “Writing the History of Scientific Instruments: State of the Art and Future Perspectives”.
A brief history of the foundation and the prize, as well as the programme of the anniversary conference, can be downloaded:
Charlotte Bigg & Christoph Meinel (eds.), Paul Bunge Prize: History of Scientific Instruments, 1993-2023 (Frankfurt/Main: GDCh, 2023), 96 pp.
The Paul Bunge Prize of the Hans R. Jenemann Foundation is awarded for work on the history of scientific instruments. The prize is awarded annually, alternately at DBG general meetings and conferences of the GDCh Division of History of Chemistry. The prize is advertised publicly and internationally. Anyone is entitled to submit nominations. Self-nominations are permitted.
David Singermann receives the prize for his book 'Unrefined: How Capitalism Reinvented Sugar', in which he masterfully shows the role scientific instruments played in shaping major historical developments. It illustrates how the polarimeter was at the centre of the conflict-ridden process through which sugar became a global commodity, linking the fields of science, technology, trade and empire.
| 2026 | David Singerman, University of Virginia/USA |
| 2025 | Paloa Bertucci, Yale University, New Haven/USA |
| 2024 | Rebekah Higgitt, National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh/UK Peter Heering, University of Flensburg |
| 2023 | Robert W. Smith, University of Alberta, Edmonton/Canada |
| 2022 | Matthew L. Jones, Columbia University, New York/USA |
| 2021 | Liba Taub, Cambridge/UK |
| 2020 | Simon Werrett, London/UK |
| 2019 | Sara Schechner, Harvard, Cambridge/USA |
| 2018 | Anthony Turner, Le Mesnil le Roi/F |
| 2017 | Simon Schaffer, Cambridge/UK |
| 2016 | Robert Anderson, Cambridge/UK |
| 2015 | Brian Gee, Leicester/UK (posthumously, † 2009) |
| 2014 | Cyrus Mody, Houston/USA |
| 2013 | Marco Beretta, Bologna/Italy |
| 2012 | David Pantalony, Ottawa/Canada |
| 2011 | Matteo Valleriani, Berlin |
| 2010 | Henning Schmidgen, Berlin |
| 2009 | Jutta Schickore, Bloomington, Indiana/USA |
| 2008 | Alison Morrison-Low, Edinburgh/Great Britain |
| 2007 | Charlotte Bigg, Berlin |
| 2006 | Inge Keil, Augsburg Davis Baird, Columbia, SC/USA |
| 2005 | Myles W. Jackson, Salem, OR/USA |
| 2004 | Jobst Broelmann, Munich Carsten Reinhardt, Regensburg |
| 2003 | Jean F. Johnston, Dumfries/Great Britain |
| 2002 | Paolo Brenni, Mendrisio/Switzerland and Florence/Italy |
| 2001 | Jim Bennett, Oxford/England |
| 2000 | Alan Q. Morton, London/England Richard J. Sorrenson, Bloomington/USA |
| 1999 | Nicolas Rasmussen, Sydney/Australia |
| 1998 | Robert Bud, London/England Deborah Jean Warner, Washington D.C./USA |
| 1997 | Silvio A. Bedini, Washington D.C./USA |
| 1996 | David A. King, Frankfurt/Main Stuart M. Feffer, Aberdeen/USA |
| 1995 | Gerard L`Estrange Turner, Oxford/England |
| 1994 | Matthias Dörries, Munich Heinz Otto Sibum, Cambridge/England |
| 1993 | Klaus Hentschel, Göttingen Mara Miniati, Florence/Italy |
Dr. Charlotte Bigg, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Paris (Chair)
Prof. Dr. Helmuth Trischler, Deutsches Museum Munich
Prof. Dr. Peter R. Schreiner, Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen (Board member of the GDCh)
Prof. Dr. Robert Franke, Evonik Oxeno GmbH & Co. KG (Chair of the DBG)
GDCh
Dr. Ralph Wieneke
Varrentrappstr. 40 - 42
60486 Frankfurt a.M.
+49 69 7917 311
r.wieneke@gdch.de