Meta Partenheimer

Meta Partenheimer is a Curatorial Assistant at the Harvard College Observatory’s Astronomical Photographic Glass Plate Collection at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. In her role, Meta supports projects related to the history of astronomy, executes tasks associated with handling and caring for the historical collection, and assists with public engagement events.

She was part of the DASCH project team, a 20+ year initiative to digitize the Harvard College Observatory’s Astronomical Photographic Glass Plate Collection for scientific applications. Most recently, she has been researching and documenting the stories of hundreds of women who contributed to scientific research at the Plate Stacks over many decades. Through this work, she hopes to shed light on their careers and personal lives, perhaps obscured or forgotten over time, and create accessible ways to bring hidden narratives to light.

Meta has worked in a variety of cultural institutions including museums, libraries, archives, and research centers. She earned her Masters of Library & Information Science (MLIS) with a concentration in Archives Management from Simmons College, now Simmons University, and her Bachelor of Arts in the History of Art from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.