Welcome

Welcome!

I am an associate professor of history at Rice University, where I study the history of computer technology. I am also co-director of the Rice Science and Technology Studies Program (https://sts.rice.edu/). Previously, I was an assistant professor of history at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and the associate director of the Law, Technology and Culture undergraduate major. I received my PhD in History and Science Studies from the University of California, San Diego in 2012.

My research interests include the history of information technologies, civil rights, public policy, and the relationship between development and use of technology. My book, Making Computers Accessible: Disability Rights and Digital Technology, was published in 2015 from The Johns Hopkins University Press and was the winner of the 2017 Computer History Museum Book Prize.

I am currently working on a book on the intellectual history of tablet computers, from the 1970s to the 2010s.

C.V. – Updated 5/2022

https://profiles.rice.edu/faculty/elizabeth-petrick