Silke Ackermann

Silke M. Ackermann () (born 1950) is a German museum curator and historian of science who is currently the Director of the History of Science Museum at Oxford University.
Education.
Ackermann studied History and Oriental Languages at the University of Frankfurt in Germany. After working for the "Regesta Imperii" Project, she wrote an MA thesis on the 13th-century mathematician, astronomer and astrologer Michael Scot entitled "Michael Scot: a universal scholar of the 13th century: Sources of his life - Tradition of his works". Ackermann continued this research for her PhD which she presented in 1996, and was later published as a book. During this research, Ackermann studied History of Science at the Institute for the History of Science within Frankfurt University and acted as an assistant to David King.
Career.
From 1996, Ackermann was the Curator of European and Islamic scientific instruments at the British Museum in London. In April 2005 she was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. In 2012, Ackermann took up a professorship at the University of Applied Sciences in Schwerin, Germany, where she was later appointed president. From July 2013 to 2017 she was the President of the Scientific Instrument Commission. From March 2014, Ackermann has been Director of the History of Science Museum, Oxford and fellow of Linacre College, taking over from Jim Bennett who was succeeded for 2 years by Stephen Johnston who served as the Acting Director from 2012 to 2014. She is the first ever female head of a museum at the University of Oxford.
Ackermann's research interests include the history of science of the Middle Ages and Renaissance and the Islamic World, scientific instruments (especially astrolabes), and knowledge transfer.
Works.
Contributed to: