The historian, philosopher, and sociologist of technology, Ann Johnson, died far too young on December 11, 2016. Ann was a remarkable person. She was smart and made fundamental contributions to our fields. She was also good. She put a great deal of time and energy into helping others—both her students and her peers—and she cared fundamentally about justice, particularly around gender and LGBTQ issues. Those who knew Ann miss her greatly.

Arrangements are currently being made to hold a memorial gathering for Ann at the 2017 meeting of the Society for the History of Technology in Philadelphia (October 26-29, 2017). In addition, a group of us will be putting together one or more panels—depending on interest—celebrating Ann’s thought and influence and articulating how her work opens doors for future inquiry. We welcome thoughts and paper proposals. Currently, a number of people will present papers on how Ann’s work relates to a variety of topics, including Allison Marsh on disability studies, David Brock on the notion of “knowledge communities,” Adelheid Voskuhl on Ann’s interest in philosophy, and Patrick McCray on emerging technologies. I will probably give a paper on how Ann gave us theoretical tools for moving beyond the cul-de-sac of “social construction.”

If you have thoughts or would like to propose a paper, you can write any of the people above or drop a note to me at leevinsel@gmail.com