Dr. Francesco Gerali, 2013 Resident Fellow, Linda Hall Library.

Between 1860 and 1910 the political elites of the Mexican government attempted to stabilize and expand Mexico’s economic base into an emerging global economy. During this long and difficult process, oil received special attention as Mexico attempted to set in motion the mechanism of oil production, following the pattern of European and North American countries. In 2011, Francesco Gerali began a post-doctoral project on the development of the modern Mexican oil industry at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Currently, he is researching human and technology interdependencies between the Mexican and American oil industries. Dr. Gerali holds a PhD in history of science from the University of Bari, Italy.