Professor Tonn teaches courses on the history of science, technology, and engineering. Her research focuses on the social and cultural history of technical knowledge, with a specific interest in women and gender in STEM fields. Currently, Professor Tonn is working on a book, Boys in the Lab: Masculinity and the Rise of the American Life Sciences, about the relationship between manliness, experimental biology, and feelings of belonging in modern science. Her research specialties include histories of women, gender, and sexuality in modern science and technology; the interplay between engineers and engineering practices and the infrastructure of everyday life; and the relationship between design, technology, and justice.  

Professor Tonn joined the Department of Engineering after four years of teaching interdisciplinary courses at Boston College as a Core Fellow. She has collaborated with faculty from around Boston College to design and teach a number of Core Complex Problems and Enduring Questions courses, including: “Making the Modern World: Design, Ethics, and Engineering,” “Science, Technology, and American Society,” “Who Are You? The Science and Sociology of Self,” and “Nature on Exhibit: From Sea Monsters to SeaWorld.” Hallmarks of Professor Tonn’s history-forward interdisciplinary teaching style involve integrating technology and quantitative methods into the history classroom, co-teaching with faculty from engineering and the natural sciences, and designing collaborative, multidisciplinary group projects that encourage students to thoughtfully and critically produce new knowledge about the world around them. She is committed to incorporating reflective practices into the classroom as important opportunities for inclusive learning and student formation. Prior to coming to Boston College, Professor Tonn received her Ph.D. in History of Science from Harvard University and her B.A. and M.A. from Stanford University. Professor Tonn also has a courtesy appointment in the History Department.