Burke, Laurence M., II
Former Curator of U.S. Naval Aviation
0000-0002-8996-7423
Burke, Laurence M., II
Former Curator of U.S. Naval Aviation
Dr. Burke is interested in the history of technology, military history, and their intersection, particularly the history of military innovation and how technology and doctrine interact.
Positions
- Curator, National Air & Space Museum 2016 -
Background And Education
Education And Training
- Ph.D. in History and Policy, Carnegie Mellon University , History Dept., Thesis: "'What To Do With the Airplane?' Determining the Role of the Airplane in the US Army, Navy, and Marine Corps, 1908-1930." 2014
- United States Military Academy , West Point Summer Seminar in Military History 2008
- M.A. in Museum Studies, George Washington University 1997
- B.S. in Science and Technology Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 1991
Professional Biography
- Dr. Burke is the Curator for U.S. Naval Aviation at the National Air and Space Museum. He is interested in the history of technology, military history, and their intersection, particularly the history of military innovation and how technology and doctrine interact. Before starting work at the Smithsonian, he held a Secretary of the Navy Innovation History Fellowship (post-doc) at the U.S. Naval Academy from 2015-2016.
Public Biography
- Dr. Burke is the Curator of U.S. Naval Aviation at the National Air and Space Museum, responsible for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps fixed-wing aircraft collection and the history of naval aviation. His research interests include the history of technology, military history (especially naval history), and the areas where these two fields overlap, such as the history of military innovation. Before starting work at the Smithsonian, he held a post-doctoral fellowship at the U.S. Naval Academy where he helped teach history to midshipmen. His dissertation looked at the early history of U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine Corps aviation from 1908 through the end of World War I. It examines how the three services' aviation activities developed, both in technology and in how they intended to use airplanes. He is currently working to turn the first part of his dissertation (up to U.S. entry into the war in 1917) into a book.
Publications
Selected Publications
-
Article
- Methodologies and Models in Military Innovation Studies. International Journal of Military History and Historiography. 1-25. 2019
- Air power and sea power in World War I: by Maryam Philpott. First World War Studies. 9:364-365. 2018
-
Blog Posting
Activities
Responsible Collections Areas
- U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aviation
Professional Service Activities
- United States Commission on Military History Trustee 2020 - 2024
Affiliation
Member Of
Contact
Location
- National Air & Space Museum Academic Department
