Jeffrey A. Engel, assistant professor at the Bush School of Government and Public Service, has won the Paul Birdsall Prize in European Military and Strategic History for his book Cold War at 30,000 Feet: the Anglo-American Fight for Aviation Supremacy, published in 2007 by Harvard University Press.
The Birdsall Prize is awarded biennially by the American Historical Association (AHA) to recognize the most important work in the past two years on European military or strategic history since 1870. Endowed by Hans Gatzke of Yale University and awarded biennially since 1986, the prize honors Birdsall’s career as a European diplomatic and military affairs historian at Williams College and a U.S. Foreign Service officer.
Cold War at 30,000 Feet details the struggle between the U.S. and Great Britain to gain supremacy in the field of commercial aviation after World War II, and is based on extensive research done in both American and British archives.
“We congratulate Professor Engel on receiving this important prize for his outstanding scholarship,” said Dr. Sam Kirkpatrick, Executive Associate Dean of the Bush School. “His commitment to the highest standards of academic scholarship is representative of our faculty, and the level of excellence we strive for at the Bush School,” he added
Engel will receive the prize on January 3, 2009 at the AHA annual meeting to be held in New York City. Currently serving as interim director of the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs, Engel is the Evelyn and Ed F. Kruse ‘49 Faculty Fellow at the Bush School. He holds a Ph.D. in American history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, earned his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and has studied at St. Catherine’s College, Oxford University. Prior to joining the Bush School faculty, Engel taught at the University of Pennsylvania and Haverford College. From 2001 -2003, he was an Olin Postdoctoral Fellow in International Security Studies at Yale University.
