Campus Visitor: Dr. Ben Gross from the Harry Ransom Center | October 3, 2025 (RSVP Now!)
Visit from Dr. Benjamin Gross, Associate Director for Research Services at the Harry Ransom Center (October 3rd)
The Office of the Vice President for Research is excited to announce that Dr. Benjamin Gross from the Harry Ransom Center will be visiting the University of Utah campus on Friday, October 3rd, 2025!
The Harry Ransom Center is an internationally renowned humanities research center at the University of Texas at Austin. The Center’s extensive collections provide unique insight into the creative process of some of the world’s finest writers and artists, deepening our understanding and appreciation of literature, photograph, film, art, and the performing arts. Dr. Gross serves as the John Merritt Associate Director for Research Services at the Harry Ransom Center. In this role, he oversees all aspects of research services, including reading room operations, reference and instruction, and the administration of the Center’s fellowship program. Full bio of Dr. Gross is provided below.
Dr. Gross’ visit to the University will include a presentation and Q&A on the Harry Ransom Center’s history, collections, and research fellowships. This presentation (description below) will take place from 11:00am – 12:00pm (MST) at the Marriott Library for interested faculty, staff, and students. Registration is required for this event and can be submitted HERE. Dr. Gross will also host more focused faculty small group meetings in the afternoon on October 3rd to further discuss the Center, its collections, and other opportunities for engagement. Faculty can indicate their interest in joining a small group meeting on their registration at the link above.
We strongly encourage all interested individuals to register for this exciting event! Space is limited. Please direct questions to Natalie McElroy or Tyler Matsamas. Thank you!
Biography - Dr. Benjamin Gross
Benjamin Gross is the John Merritt Associate Director for Research Services at the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin. In that role, he is responsible for overseeing all aspects of research services, including reading room operations, reference and instruction, and the administration of the Center’s internationally recognized fellowship program. He previously served as Vice President for Research and Scholarship at the Linda Hall Library, a postdoctoral fellow at the Science History Institute, and consulting curator of the Sarnoff Collection at The College of New Jersey. Gross earned a PhD in the history of science from Princeton University and his book, The TVs of Tomorrow: How RCA’s Flat-Screen Dreams Led to the First LCDs, was published in 2018 by the University of Chicago Press.
Presentation - An Archive of the Imagination: Research Opportunities at the Harry Ransom Center
The Harry Ransom Center is an internationally renowned humanities research library and museum at The University of Texas at Austin. Every year, thousands of people visit the Center to tour an exhibition, attend a program, or examine rare books, manuscripts, and photographs that enhance their appreciation of literature, photography, film, art, and the performing arts. This presentation will provide an overview of the Ransom Center’s history and its collections, which include the world’s oldest photograph, the archives of Nobel Prize-winning authors Gabriel García Márquez, Doris Lessing, and Kazuo Ishiguro, and the newly acquired personal papers of Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels. Attendees will also learn about the Ransom Center’s fellowship program, which offers financial support to researchers pursuing projects that would benefit from sustained engagement with the Center’s holdings.