XXXII Baltic Conference on the History and Philosophy of Science
Preliminary Programme
Riga, June 10–12, 2026
Wednesday, June 10 — Opening Day
📍 Latvian Academy of Sciences (Akadēmijas laukums 1)
15:00–16:00 Registration
16:00–16:30 Opening
16:30–17:15 Keynote
A Philosopher’s Travels or a Traveler’s Philosophy? On the Globetrotting and Knowledge-Making of Hermann Graf Keyserling
Jost Eickmeyer. Eutin State Library.
17:15–18:00 Guided tour
Stalinist Architecture: The Latvian Academy of Sciences High-Rise
Mārtiņš Mintaurs. University of Latvia.
18:00–20:00 Welcome reception
Thursday, June 11 — Conference Sessions
📍 Conference sessions: RSU Anatomy Museum (Kronvalda bulvāris 9)
📍 Evening event: National Library of Latvia (Mūkusalas iela 3)
Coffee breaks included; lunch at participants’ own expense (recommendations provided)
09:00–10:30 Session 1
Moderator Elvīra Šimfa. University of Latvia.
Scientific Growth: Dimensions of Expansion in Nordic Research and Higher Education from the 1960s to the 2000s. Heikki Mikkonen. Finnish Academy of Science and Letters.
Cold War Science in Finland from 1940s to 1970s. Ahto Apajalahti. Finnish Academy of Science and Letters.
Engineering Sciences in the First Years of Soviet Rule After World War II. Alīda Zigmunde, Ilze Gudro. Riga Technical University.
The Emerging Nuclear Science in Finland in the Early Phase of the Cold War Era. Markus Ahlskog. University of Jyväskylä.
Institutional Contexts Shaping Biomedical Research in Latvia. Baiba Tetere. Rīga Stradiņš University. National Institute of Research and Innovation.
Discussion
10:30–11:00 Coffee break
11:00–12:30 Session 2
Moderator Ieva Lībiete. Rīga Stradiņš University.
The Impact of World War II on the Number of Doctors and Its Consequences in Latvia. Mārtiņš Vesperis. Jūrmala Museum.
Truth, Lies and Aesopian Language in Lithuanian Pharmacists’ Memoirs (1957). Vilma Gudienė. Lithuanian University of Health Sciences.
The Legacy of Pauls Stradiņš: from Surgery to Institutional Leadership. Pēteris Stradiņš. Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital, Rīga Stradiņš University.
The Role of Vasily Kalbergs in Latvian Higher Medical Education During the Soviet Era. Maija Pozemkovska. Rīga Stradiņš University.
On the Biography of Riga Professor Vasily Nikolaevich Klimenko (1868–1941). Olena Vasylieva, Yurii Vasyliev, Kostiantyn Vasyliev. Sumy State University.
Discussion
12:30–13:00 Lunch break
13:30–14:15 Keynote
Knowing the Family: Science, Law, and the Governance of Intimacy
Marianna Muravyeva. University of Helsinki.
14.15–14:30 Coffee break
14:30–16:15 Session 3
Moderator Ineta Lipša. Rīga Stradiņš University.
Deep Sleep Therapy in the Treatment of Schizophrenia in Soviet Latvia. Marika Garnizone, Kaspars Zaltāns, Ieva Lībiete. Rīga Stradiņš University.
Reestablishment of the Department of Psychology at Vilnius University in 1969: status, function, role. Ignė Rasickaitė. Vilnius University.
"Learn to Master Yourself": Psychohygiene in Soviet Latvia. Ieva Lībiete, Marika Garnizone. Rīga Stradiņš University.
The Rebirth of the Idea of Mental Work Hygiene Under the Iron Curtain: The Case of Soviet Lithuania. Aistis Žalnora. Vilnius University.
Energopower. The Technicization of the Soviet Self. Ainārs Kamoliņš. The Latvian Academy of Culture.
Historical Teaching Aids Produced in the Georgian SSR for Learning the Human Nervous System. Iveta Skripste. Rīga Stradiņš University.
Discussion
16.15–16:45 Coffee break. Group photo
16:30–18:00 Session 4
Moderator Juris Salaks. Rīga Stradiņš University.
Academician Solomon Hiller (1915–1975): A Timeless Inspiration for Latvian Science. Pēteris Trapencieris. National Institute of Research and Innovation.
The Significance of RMI’s International Collaboration in the Development of Latvian Medicine (1950–1991). Kaspars Antonovičs. Rīga Stradiņš University.
Dissertations defended by Lithuanian pharmacists, 1936–2025. Austėja Kausteklytė. Lithuanian University of Health Sciences.
Transforming Pre-Hospital emergency care in the USSR: The creation of the first resuscitation team in Riga (1961). Rafaels Ciekurs. Rīga Stradiņš University.
Medicine at the University of Dorpat in the 17th Century and the development of the Swedish University Network. Marie Vatjus. University of Helsinki.
Discussion
18:15–19:00 Transfer to the National Library of Latvia.
Participants can reach the venue by taking Tram No. 5 from the Museum to the Library. Further directions will be provided on site.
19:00–21:00 Exhibition visit & reception
📍 National Library of Latvia (Mūkusalas iela 3)
Friday, June 12 — Parallel Sessions & Closing
📍 RSU Anatomy Museum & RSU Anatomicum (Kronvalda bulvāris 9).
Both venues are located at the same address and are within a one-minute walk of each other.
09:30–10:15 Keynote
From Consciousness Theory to Space Tech: AI as a Scientific Enabler
Karl Johannes Lierfeld. LMU Munich.
10:15–10:45 Coffee break
11:00–12:30 Parallel Session 5 📍Anatomy museum
ModeratorPeeter Müürsepp. Tallinn University of Technology.
Machines, Models and Modalities: The Role of Theories in the Age of AI. Rami Koskinen. University of Oslo.
Ilkka Pättiniemi. University of Turku.
The Role of Ethics in Scientific Research: Historical Roots and Modern Challenges. Aive Pevkur. Tallinn University of Technology.
Critique of Rein Vihalemm’s Notion of φ-scientific Cognition. Ave Mets. University of Tartu.
Conceptual and Methodological Issues Related to Folk-Biological Studies of Psychological Essentialism. Edit Talpsepp. University of Tartu.
Shift from Institutional to Project-Based Research Funding and Changes in Epistemic Cultures: Evidence from Qualitative Interviews with Estonian Physicists (2006–2007). Endla Lõhkivi. University of Tartu.
Discussion
11:00–12:30 Parallel Session 6 📍Anatomicum
Moderator Ramūnas Kondratas. Lithuanian Association of the History and Philosophy of Science.
Scientific Mobility and the Formation of Knowledge at the Imperial Vilnius University (1803–1832). Daiva Milinkevičiūtė-Kastunovič. Vilnius University.
“My Dearest Friend and Colleague” – Unknown Letters Written by Humboldt to Struve Found in the Humboldt Archives in Quito. Florian Schnee. Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities.
Between Poetry and Encyclopedism in Grīziņkalns (Hinterbergen) in the Middle of the 18th century. Baroque Reflection on Nature with Enlightenment Traits by the Medical Doctor and Scientist Johann Bernhard Fischer (1685–1772). Beata Paškevica. National Library of Latvia.
The Three Oettingen Brothers in the Changing World of Science. Lea Leppik. University of Tartu.
The State, Philanthropy, and Medicine: The Establishment of Insane Asylums in the Russian Baltic Provinces in the 19th Century. Anu Rae. University of Tartu.
Discussion
12:30–13:30 Lunch break
13:30–15:15 Parallel Session 7 📍Anatomy museum
Moderator Alīda Zigmunde. Riga Technical University.
Life and Achievements of Thomas Johann Seebeck (1770–1831). Peeter Müürsepp. Tallinn University of Technology.
Ignotas Horodeckis – Head of the Department of Mineralogy at Vilnius University, born 250 years ago. Eugenija Rudnickaitė. Vilnius University.
Marcin Poczobut and Other Forgotten Observers of the 18th century Venus Transit. Veronika Girininkaitė. Vilnius University.
STE(A)M Exhibits Created by Riga Technical University Students at the RTU Curiosity Centre «Futurimo Riga» – Science Interest Boosters for Children. Ilze Gudro, Alīda Zigmunde. Riga Technical University.
Discussion
13:30–15:15 Parallel Session 8 📍Anatomicum
Moderator Vilma Gudienė. Lithuanian University of Health Sciences.
History of Physics Demonstration Room of Department of Physics of Kaunas University of Technology. Judita Puišo. Kaunas University of Technology.
Science in Interwar Lithuania: The Case of Adolfas Damušis. Ramūnas Kondratas. Lithuanian Association of the History and Philosophy of Science.
The University of Latvia During the Interwar Period – the National Alma Aater of the Republic of Latvia or the Heir to the Higher Education Institutions of the Baltic Provinces of the Russian Empire? Rūdolfs Rubenis. University of Latvia.
Imported and Forgotten Knowledge: The 1921–1922 Archaeological Digs of the Jaunpiebalga Mound Cemetery by Anatomists Gaston Backman and Jēkabs Prīmanis. Kaspars Zaltāns. Rīga Stradiņš University.
Professor Pauls Stradins’ Morphologist Skills. Māra Pilmane. Rīga Stradiņš University.
Discussion
15:15–16:00 BAHPS General Assembly 📍Anatomy museum