Freeman Award

The Freeman award will be made for a publication which is a significant collective contribution to the interaction of science and technology studies with other disciplines or areas of study.

Selection will be based on originality and the successful development of interdisciplinary theories, concepts or empirical descriptions. Consideration will be given to the publication process (such as series of meetings, collective work, etc.) as well as the publication itself.

Chris Freeman was a Professor of Science Policy at the University of Sussex for over 20 years and also with the University of Limburg for many years. He died in 2010 at the age of 88. An economist by background, he produced many highly influential works addressing the dynamics of innovation and the Schumpeterian analysis of long waves of technological change. He also wrote on the social and political aspects of science. He was a founder of the major research centres SPRU and MERIT and was the founder and long-standing editor of the journal Research Policy. An internationalist in outlook he was a key promoter of PAREX, a European collaboration in the history and social studies of science that was the direct forerunner of EASST. A modest yet inspiring figure he was renowned for his warm enthusiasm and supportiveness for all who shared a genuine interest in science, technology and society, whatever their background. He was deeply committed to social change for a more just and sustainable world.