Bruno V. Manno collection on Michael Polanyi

Michael Polanyi was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1891. In 1913, he received his medical degree from the University of Budapest, where he also received his Ph.D. in 1917. He worked as a chemist in Germany from 1920 to 1933. When the Nazis came to power, Polanyi, who was Jewish, moved to Great Britain. He was chair of the Physical Chemistry Department at the University of Manchester from 1933 to 1948 and professor of social science from 1948 to 1958. In 1958 he became a senior research fellow at Merton College, Oxford, were he remained until his death in 1976.

Bruno V. Manno, S.M., is a UD alumnus and former faculty member . He received both a B.A. in philosophy (1970) and an M.A. in theological studies (1972) from the University of Dayton. Manno earned his Ph.D. in interdisciplinary studies from Boston College in 1975. A copy of his dissertation, "The Person of Meaning: A Study in the Post-Critical Thought of Michael Polanyi," is included in the collection.

Manno was a faculty member in the Department of Religious Studies at UD from 1977 to 1980. He also worked at the National Catholic Association in Washington D.C., the United States Department of Education, and the Hudson Institute. He most recently worked at the Annie E. Casey Foundation in Baltimore, Maryland, and served as a trustee of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation. Manno has written a number of articles and book reviews and has co-authored two books. His specialties include charter schools, Catholic schools, parochial schools, school vouchers, and federal education programs.