Dr. Jacob Ward

Biography

Dr. Jacob Ward is a contemporary historian whose work spans the history of science and technology, environmental history, organizational history, and political history. He is currently an Assistant Professor (tenured) in the History Department of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Maastricht University. Between 2022 and 2026, Dr. Ward serves as the principal investigator for the NWO VENI Grant project entitled 'The Prediction Machine: Science, Technology, Futurology and the British Government'. This project explores the history of futures research in the UK, emphasizing governmental research into resource scarcity and energy futures from the 1970s through to the establishment of the Technology Foresight programme in the 1990s. Dr. Ward is the author of 'Visions of a Digital Nation: Market Monopoly and British Telecommunications', a book published by MIT Press in 2024, which investigates the technological, political, and economic futures driven by digitalization in Britain's telecommunications infrastructure. His previous work earned him the 2018 Duncan Tanner Essay Prize for his article on the financial impacts of the Information Age. He teaches both the BA in Arts and Culture and the BA in Digital Society programs and supervises MA theses in European Studies in Science and Technology, as well as various PhD projects in related fields. His broad expertise includes the history of modern science and technology, environmental history, and the interplay between technology and governance.

Research Interests