ABOUT

I am a philosopher researching how values influence public engagement and trust in science.

I am currently a Postdoctoral Researcher with the Social Credibility and Trustworthiness of Expert Knowledge and Science-Based Information (SOCRATES) Centre for Advanced Studies at the Institute for Philosophy at Leibniz University Hannover.

My research addresses descriptive and normative questions about how different types of values manifest in science communication. To do this, I collaborate with epistemologists, philosophers of science, science communication scholars and practitioners.

One thread throughout my research has been to argue that the value-free ideal (VFI) for science, which dominated science and science communication from the Cold War until the end of the 20th century, minimizes the importance of non-epistemic values in science and the presence of these values in science education and science communication models. For more on this see my dissertation, and this piece on the implications of the VFI on science communication and public trust in science.

My interest in science communication is heavily inspired by my experience as a provenance researcher at the Canadian Museum of Science and Technology (Ottawa), a facilitator at the Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto) and in exhibit design at Science North (Sudbury). Additionally, my time spent with university artifact collections at the University of Waterloo’s Computer Museum (Waterloo), the University of Toronto’s Scientific Instruments Collection (Toronto) and Leibniz University Hannover’s teaching collection have been a wonderful source of insight into communication through material culture.

Prior to my position at the Leibniz University of Hannover, I was a Postdoctoral Fellow (wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin) at the Cologne Center for Contemporary Epistemology and the Kantian Tradition (CONCEPT) working on the project "Moral obligation, epistemology and public health: the case of vaccine hesitancy".

I have also been a postdoctoral researcher at Institut Jean Nicod, an analytic-oriented interdisciplinary research centre combining philosophy, social science and cognitive science. I invesitgated affective and normative factors that play a role in decisions to trust as part of the EU Horizon 2020 project: Policy, Expertise and Trust in Action (PEriTiA).

SELECT PUBLICATIONS

CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS AND TALKS

PHILOSOPHER-IN-RESIDENCE

Near-living architecture incorporates biological features into environments that are responsive to occupants in that space. The structures pictured, are mini ecosystems — chemically infused with biologically active layers — that undergo actions like osmosis. They react and change in relation to inhabitants of the space. My research asked what applications near-living architecture might have with respect to understanding theories of emergence.

For information and interviews about my Philosopher-in-Residence research in architecture see here and here. For more on near-living architecture, see Philip Beesley Studio Inc.

I also have ongoing work in the philosophy of data science. By integrating myself in a data science laboratory I uncovered how the non-epistemic values of scientists impact research decisions and the consequences of these values in a broader societal context.

As part of this research project, I developed a novel 'value-conscious' methodological contribution to collaborative socio-technical integration—a science and technology studies (STS) method for humanities scholars wanting to engage scientists directly. For more on the experience, see this paper.

With the transactional expertise in data science earned from this project, and my work on values in science as social indicators of trust, my upcoming research in this area will reconstruct the value-rich relationship between developers, AI and publics to understand how this interaction can go beyond mere reliance and encourage socially responsible data-based innovation.

For an interview about my integrated work in computer science and values see here.