Graduate student Whitney Laemmli has won the 2011 Robinson Prize of the Society for the History of Technology for her presentation, "The Pointe Shoe as Technology: Making Streamlined Bodies and Interchangeable Ballerinas at the New York City Ballet," at the Society's recent meeting in Cleveland.
Established in 1980 by Dr. Eric Robinson in memory of his wife, Joan Cahalin Robinson, the prize is awarded annually for the best-presented paper by an individual delivering his or her first paper at the SHOT annual meeting. Special attention is paid by the awards committee to the effectiveness of the presentation as well as to the quality of the historical research and scholarship of the paper. The prize consists of a check for a cash award and a certificate.
Whitney's paper her reflects research interests in gender, the body, and the intersection of science and technology with various kinds of artistic endeavor.
Her paper has been noticed on two blogs!
http://boingboing.net/2011/11/08/ballet-shoes-as-technology.html