Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine
King's College London

My first step as a historian of STM was with the history of history – a scientific biography of the Swiss historian Willi Gautschi and his work on the Swiss General Strike of 1918. Following this, I completed my PhD on the history of Public Health in Switzerland from 1800 to the 1920s. I had the privilege of being part of the history department at the University of Basel and the Centre-Alexandre Koyré at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris. Currently, I am focused on researching the interconnectedness of economic, political, and technological aspects of major transnational infrastructures, particularly the electricity market and its powerline network in Western Europe after World War 2.

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Research Projects:

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My current research project (Electric Liaisons. Market creation and the construction of a transnational powerline network in Western Europe, 1950-1980) explores the creation of electricity markets in Western Europe after World War 2. I focus on the transnational infrastructures of electricity exchange and distribution – the powerlines and substations that constitute the “grid” – which were essential to this market. I study how economic and political interests contributed to shaping these technologies.

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Recent Publications:

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La Grippe espagnole de 1918 en Suisse, Alphil, Neuchâtel, 2025 (contract).

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Willi Gautschi et la Grève générale de 1918 : écrire, réécrire l’histoire, Antipodes, Lausanne, 2023.

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« 1863-1872. L’émergence des institutions fédérales de santé publique entre peste bovine et choléra », Revue Suisse d’Histoire, vol. 72/1, 2022, pp. 22-39.

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« Anti-vaccination, mouvement ouvrier et disparition de la variole. Tentative d’interprétation d’un mouvement populaire en Suisse (1870-1890) », Cahiers d’histoire du mouvement ouvrier, 38, 2022, pp. 17-32.​

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Grants, Awards, and Prizes:

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2024-2026 PostDoc. Mobility Fellowship, Swiss National Science Foundation (118’800 CHF)

2023 Conference Organisation Grant, Basel Graduate School of History (8’000 CHF)

2023 Conference Organisation Grant, Freie Akademische Gesellschaft Basel (4'000 CHF)

2022 Doc.Mobility Fellowship, Swissuniversities (25’000 CHF)

2022  Publication Grant, Swisslos AG (6’885 CHF)

2022  Publication Grant, University of Lausanne (3’800 CHF)

2022   Publication Grant, Société académique vaudoise (2’000 CHF)

2020-2024 Doc.CH Fellowship, Swiss National Science Foundation, (243’530 CHF)

2019 Starting Grant for PhD Candidate, University of Basel, Basel Graduate School of History (30’000 CHF)

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Public Engagement: 

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I regularly write about recent history books in the Swiss newspaper Le Courrier (https://lecourrier.ch/auteur/severic-yersin/), and I talk to authors about their work on the podcast Cliocast (https://www.infoclio.ch/de/cliocast). I’ve published in numerous newspapers about my research, including the Wochenzeitung and Le Temps.

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