Pedro Raposo, DPhil

Biography

Dr. Pedro M. P. Raposo was appointed University Librarian and Associate Vice Provost for Libraries, Collections and Archives in April 2026. In this role, he oversees the strategic and operational direction of Drexel University Libraries and advances the stewardship and use of Drexel's archives and collections in support of learning and research.

Raposo holds a doctorate in the history of science from the University of Oxford, where he was awarded the Magellan Prize for his dissertation on nineteenth-century astronomical observatories. He is also Invited Professor for the History of Science in Drexel University's Department of History, College of Arts and Sciences. Throughout his career, Raposo has championed the integration of artifact collections, archives, and libraries into teaching and research while advancing initiatives focused on access, public engagement, and interdisciplinary scholarship. He has published extensively on the intersections of science, material culture, collections, and knowledge production.

Prior to joining Drexel, Raposo served as Curator and Director of Collections at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, where he oversaw the library, archives, rare book, and scientific instrument collections. In that role, he worked to integrate these collections more fully into the museum's activities, including sky shows, exhibitions, and public programs. He also advanced their use in teaching and research. During his tenure, the Adler exhibition What Is a Planet? received the 2016 Great Exhibitions Prize from the British Society for the History of Science.

Raposo later served as Martha Hamilton and I. Wistar Morris III Executive Director of Library & Archives at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, where he spearheaded the transformation of the department into an active hub for historical biodiversity data, innovative teaching with archives and rare books, and a broad range of scholarly and public engagement initiatives in the environmental humanities and the history of the natural sciences.

He subsequently served as Interim Head of Drexel University Libraries before assuming his current role as University Librarian and Associate Vice Provost.

Outside of work, Raposo is an avid vinyl record collector who enjoys playing guitar and bass and attending live music performances.