Simon Schaffer

Simon J. Schaffer is a professor at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge. He studied at Trinity College, Cambridge, and gained a DPhil in 1980. Schaffer went on to Harvard University as a Kennedy Scholar. He has also taught at Imperial College London and the University of California, Los Angeles. Schaffer has been a Fellow of Darwin College, Cambridge since 1985.

Schaffer has authored or co-authored numerous books, including 'Leviathan and the Air-Pump: Hobbes, Boyle, and the Experimental Life' with Steven Shapin. In addition to his work at Cambridge, he has been a presenter on the BBC, in particular the series Light Fantastic broadcast on BBC Four in 2004. Until recently, he was the editor of The British Journal for the History of Science.