The Lone Star History of Science Group is pretty much what it sounds like—a loose-knit and very informal organization of historians of science, technology, and medicine from around the state of Texas. It was founded in Austin in March 1988 and around bluebonnet time in March or April of every year since then (apart from the Covid-19 years of 2020, 2021, and 2022), the group has gathered in one or another Texas city (usually Austin, Houston, or College Station) to hear a talk, enjoy dinner together, and get to know each other a little better. The longevity of the Lone Star Group probably owes a lot to its simplicity: on its founding, its members agreed that the "organization" would have no by-laws, officers, or dues, and it still gets along very well without them.
Our 2024 gathering will be a rather more elaborate affair than usual: Luis Campos and Liz Petrick of Rice University are organizing a two-day meeting to be held in Houston and Galveston on Friday and Saturday, April 26th and 27th. We'll start with a reception and a lightning round of introductions at Rice starting at 3:00 pm on Friday, spend the night at a hotel in Galveston, and then on Saturday morning gather for breakfast and a talk on the history of fisheries and the environment by Thomas Blake Earle of Texas A&M Galveston. It should make for a memorable occasion.
To find more about the upcoming meeting and to register to attend, click on this link.
For a list of past meetings, with the date, city, site, speaker, topic, and where we went to dinner, click on the "Past Meetings" tab above. Most of the dates also include a link to the account of the meeting published in the History of Science Society Newsletter, often with a photo of the assembled group. We're also gradually adding other photos, which you can find by clicking the "Photographs" tab above.
Anyone wishing to be added to the e-mail list for the Lone Star Group (and that's all it takes to become a member in good standing) should contact Bruce Hunt at the University of Texas: bjhunt@austin.utexas.edu.