I am a historian of science, technology, and medicine, especially interested in microbes, biotechnology, and natural history.

Currently, I am a visiting researcher in history at Caltech and a history teacher at an independent school outside Los Angeles. I completed a PhD at the Program in History of Science at Princeton University in 2020 and was appointed the Ahmanson Postdoctoral Instructor in History of Biology at Caltech from 2020 through 2023. I have written peer-reviewed articles for the Journal of the History of Biology (2022), Engaging Science, Technology and Society (2024), and an exhibition on scientific images at Caltech (2024). Currently, I am researching the history of extremophile studies on public lands in the postwar United States. Additionally, I am writing a trade book on the history of biotechnology. My research has been sponsored by the Mellon Foundation and the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), the Consortium for History of Science, Technology and Medicine (CHSTM), and the German-American Fulbright Commission.

ckollmer [at] caltech [dot] edu | Download CV