Research interests

• History of mathematics (séculos XV a XVII);
• Mathematical culture of architects and craftsmen;
• Technical treatises in the first century of the printing press;
• The role of mathematical instruments in early modern science.

Projects

• “O papel dos instrumentos matemáticos: cultura matemática nos tratados e nas mãos do prático”, post-doc research project, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, (FCT/MCTES, SFRH/BPD/35072/2007), 2007-2012.

• “On the instruments' trail: Exploring Royal Cabinets of Natural Philosophy in Portugal (18th-19th century)", (PTDC/HIS-HCT/098970/2008), 2010-.
• "Lisbon Academy of Sciences Museum collections scientific background", (HC/0074/2009), 2010-2011.
• "Reading newspapers. An open window to representations of Science and Technology in the Portuguese Press (1900-1926)", (PTDC/HCT/68210/2006), 2008-2011.
• "História dos Jogos em Portugal", (PTDC/HCT/70823/2006), 2008 - .
• "Reception and developments of logarithms in Portugal in the 17th and 18th centuries", Centro de Matemática (CMAT), Universidade do Minho, 2008 - .
• "Paving the way for integrated archival and collection-based research in the history of science: Preservation, access and case-studies of the collections of the Museum of Science (University of Lisbon)", (PTDC/HAH/64181/2006), 2008-2011.

Publications (selection)

1. Samuel Gessner, "The conception of a mathematical instrument and its distance from the material world: the 'pantometra' in Lisbon, 1638", Studium: Tijdschrift voor Wetenschaps- en Universiteits-Geschiedenis | Revue d'Histoire des Sciences et des Universités, Issue: Networks and Institutions in the Circulation of Knowledge, vol. 4(4), 2011, p. 210-227.
2. Samuel Gessner, Ana Mesquita, "Le globe céleste de Schissler : enjeux d’histoire des sciences et de préservation du patrimoine", in Proceedings ICOM-CC, Lisbon, 2011 [preprint]
3. Samuel Gessner, "Salvare la lettera : mode d’articulation entre mathématiques et questions d’architecture”, in Mathématiques et connaissance du monde réel avant Galilée, Sabine Rommevaux ed., Montreuil, Omniscience, 2010, p. 287-322.
4. Samuel Gessner, “Savoir manier les instruments : la géométrie dans les écrits italiens d'architecture (1545-1570)”, Revue d’Histoire des Mathématiques, Tome 16, Fascicule 1, 2010, p. 87-147.
5. Samuel Gessner, "The Vopelius – Schissler connection: transmission of knowledge for the design of celestial globes in the 16th century", SIS Bulletin, Journal of the Scientific Instrument Society, nr. 104, 2010, p.32-42.
6. Samuel Gessner, "Bons procédés entre érudits: Un mésolabe pour l’édition de l’Architecture de Vitruve (1567)", Revue de Synthèse, 'Histoire sociale des mathématiques', t. 131, 6a série, no. 4, 2010, 523-541.
7. Samuel Gessner, “O problema délico no Colégio de Santo Antão: um problema clássico de geometria e a notação algébrica da prova”, in Revisitar os saberes: referências clássicas na cultura Portuguesa do Renascimento à idade moderna, Actas do Colóquio organizado na Universidade de Lisboa, CEC/IELT/CIUHCT, 5 e 6 de Junho de 2009, no prelo.
8. Samuel Gessner, "Para o estudo do papel histórico dos instrumentos matemáticos: o globo celeste e a gramelogia na Aula da Esfera, 1620 - 1640", in A Ciência na Aula da Esfera do Colégio de Santo Antão. Actas das Jornadas 4 de Abril 2008, no prelo.
9. Samuel Gessner, " 'Das Spheras Artefiçial, Soblunar e Celeste': O papel dos instrumentos matemáticos nos escritos do Colégio de Santo Antão em Lisboa", in Henrique Leitão (comissário científico), Lígia Martins (coordenação técnica e catalográfica), Sphæra Mundi: A Ciência na Aula da Esfera. Manuscritos científicos do Colégio de Santo Antão nas colecções da BNP, Catálogo, (Lisboa: Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal, 2008), pp. 71-88.
10. Samuel Gessner, Mathématiques et applications: Les mathématiques dans les écrits d'architecture italiens, 1545-1570, tese de doutoramento, Université Paris 7 - Denis Diderot, n° 0008783X, Paris, 2006.

Scientific Societies and other institutions

• Seminário Nacional de História da Matemática: secretariat member.