Students

Adrian Currie is currently a Lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Philosophy, and Anthropology at the University of Exeter, UK.  His research focuses on topics in the historical sciences, different epistemic practices, such as experiment and simulation, and the intersection between philosophy and paleontology (see his Extinct blog).  Adrian completed his MA in Philosophy at Victoria University of Wellington (2010), as well as a Ph.D at the Australian National University (2014). Adrian joined us at UCalgary as an “Eyes High” Postdoctoral Fellow from 2014-2016.

Dean Rickles is now a Professor of History and Philosophy of Modern Physics at The University of Sydney.  He received his Ph.D. from the University of Leeds (2004) with a thesis on conceptual issues in quantum gravity.  Dean began a postdoctoral fellowship at UCalgary in 2005.  He focused on health sciences and philosophy, and studied the application of complex systems theory to population health.  Currently, his main research focus is the foundations of quantum gravity research.

Frank Zender

Bengt Autzen is a research associate at the University of Bristol, having received a PhD in philosophy from the London School of Economics (LSE). His research interests lie in the philosophy of biology, the philosophy of medicine, and the philosophy of social sciences. The main focus of my work is on the epistemology of the life sciences.

Ph.D., Archie Fields III’s research interests are in the philosophy of biology, cognitive science, and modelling. His current research involves assessing the prospects for integration between models-based and narrative research on the evolution of cooperation. He completed an M.A. in History and Philosophy of Science at Indiana University in 2016, an M.A. in Philosophy at Georgia State University in 2014, and a B.A. in Philosophy and English at the University of Alabama in Huntsville in 2010.

Ph.D., Soohyun Ahn’s research interests are in philosophy of science, ethics, and bioethics.  She received her M.A. in Philosophy from Kyungpook National University.  Her thesis was on the role of emotion and feeling at the neurobiological system level as a necessity to understand human consciousness. Soo also has a B.S. in Genetic Engineering.

Ph.D., Celso Neto’s research interests are in philosophy of biology, philosophy of science, and philosophy of race.  His current dissertation research investigates the metaphysics of biological lineages, in addition to the epistemic roles that a concept of lineage plays in science. He recently transferred from Leibniz Universität Hannover (2016).  He completed his undergraduate degree and M.A. at the Federal University of Minas Gerais in Brazil (2013).  Celso’s M.A. thesis is focused on the ontological status of biological species in phylogenetics.

Ph.D. (April 2019), Sinan Sencan’s research interests are in philosophy of biology and philosophy of science.  He completed his M.A. at Mugla Sitki Kocman University entitled, “Biological Laws and Philosophical Accounts of Scientific Theories.”  Sinan completed an M.A. (2011) and B.A. (2009) in philosophy at the Middle East Technical University.

Ph.D. (April 2017), Alison McConwell’s research interests are in philosophy of biology and philosophy of science.  Her dissertation focuses on the intersection between evolutionary contingency, individuality, and the major transitions in evolution.  Alison completed her M.A. in Philosophy at Western University (2011) on subcortical roles in conscious functioning.  She finished a B.A. in Philosophy at the University of Regina (2010).

Ph.D. (January 2014), Brandon Holter’s dissertation research focused on how social and ethical values guide scientific practice.  He is currently a Lecturer at East Tennessee State University. He completed his M.A. in Philosophy at Washington State University (2009) with a thesis entitled, “The Ontology of Species: A Radically Pluralist Perspective.”

Ph.D. (April 2013), Makmiller Pedroso is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Townson University, Maryland.  His dissertation research provided a critique of modern biological essentialism.  He is now working on the evolution of biological individuals, and the role of common ancestry in biological classification.  Mak completed his M.A. and B.A. in Philosophy at the University of Brasilia.

M.A. (June 2012), Michelle Pham is currently a Ph.D student at the University of Washington in Seattle.  She currently focuses on the relationship between consensus and diversity in science.  Her M.A. and UCalgary was also in the philosophy of science.

Ph.D. (2011), Michael Steiner’s dissertation research examined how to understand the classificatory language and practices used by scientific disciplines.  He also received his B.A. and M.A. from UCalgary. Mike left academia to pursue life in the corporate world and has been working as a Business Analyst for a large energy infrastructure company.  He has written and presented on the very valuable skills that philosophers can bring to organizations outside of academia. He continually investigates areas where business and philosophy intersect, and is currently interested in what companies really mean when they say they want (something, anything) to be “strategic.”

M.A. (July 2011), Shari Monner is currently a Ph.D student at Western University in London, Ontario.  Her current topics of study are the biological concepts and methods used for mapping the evolutionary history of species and constructing the tree of life.  She is specifically interested in how character concepts are used by biologists in different disciplines.

Ph.D. (March 2010), Travis Dumsday is currently an Assistant Professor at Concordia University of Edmonton in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies.  He is also a Canada Research Chair in Theology and the Philosophy of Science.  Travis’s dissertation provided a defense of an essentialist ontology of kinds, laws, and biological taxa.  He completed his M.A. in Philosophy at the University of Waterloo (2006), and a B.A. in Philosophy and Political Science at Carleton University (2005).

Ph.D. (April 2008), Jennifer Runke

M.A. (June 2007), Michael Steiner.  See his Ph.D description above.

M.A. (Sept 2007), Sky Coulter

M.A. (June 2006), Clement Loo is an Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota in Morris, as well as a Coordinator for the Sustainable Leaders for the Future Program.  His has research expertise in environmental philosophy, food justice, and environmental assessment.  He completed both of his B.A. and M.A. at UCalgary, and his Ph.D at the University of Cincinnati in 2011.

Ph.D. (Nov 2005), Jesse Hendrikse is an instructor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary.

M.A. (August 2002), Shawna Boyle

Ph.D. (Sept 2001), Jay Odenbaugh is an Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Lewis and Clark College.  In 2016, he was a Fulbright Visiting Research Chair at UCalgary’s Philosophy Department.  His dissertation title is, “Searching for Patterns, Hunting for Causes: A Philosophical Examination of Mathematical Modelling in Theoretical Ecology.”  His research generally tends to focus on foundational issues in the sciences, especially evolutionary biology and ecology.  Jay has published on a variety of topics in these areas.

M.A. (July 1998), Jesse Hendrikse  is an instructor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary.

PhD (May 1997), David Baumslag

Ph.D. (June 1996), Mohamed El Samahi

M.A. (July 1994), Barrett Wolski