Visiting Fellowships 2022-23

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If you’ve ever wanted to join the Center community as a Visiting Fellow, we are now accepting applications for the 2022-23 academic year!

Visiting Fellows have no formal duties. They are expected to pursue their own research, to give a lunchtime talk, and to participate in the intellectual life of the Center by attending talks and discussions.

We encourage all interested philosophers of science to apply.  We particularly welcome submissions from members of underrepresented groups.

Deadline for applications is December 12, 2021.

For more details and to apply….

Postdoc Fellowships 2022-23

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Applications are now open for Postdoc Fellowships for the 2022-23 academic year!

Postdoctoral Fellowships enable philosophers of science within five years of their doctorates to spend a two-term academic year working in the Center for Philosophy of Science on a project in philosophy of science that they nominate. Two Postdoctoral Fellowships are offered each year.

The Center encourages applications from assistant professors in the early stages of their careers as well as from scholars with newly awarded doctorates. We particularly welcome submissions from members of underrepresented groups.

Deadline for applications is December 12, 2021.

For more details and to apply….

The Center’s COVID Plan, Fall Term 2021

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mask up

This Fall we will welcome back back in-person Fellows and in-person events in compliance with the University’s COVID-19 guidelines, with additional precautions added.

All individuals, regardless of vaccination status, must wear a face covering in campus buildings, except while eating or drinking in a designated dining area and when in an enclosed private space (e.g., private study room or private office.)

Non-Pitt individuals who want to attend our in-person talks must send an email in advance to Katie Labuda (kathleenlabuda@pitt.edu) requesting Guest Building Access, or you will not be able to enter the Cathedral of Learning.

Lunchtime Talks will take place in person. The speaker as well as the attendees will be masked during the whole talk and Q&A. Contact tracing will be in place and we will ask you to write down your name and email on a sign-in sheet. We will also stream the talks on YouTube livestream, and you will have the option of attending and possibly asking questions through Zoom. Zoom links will be posted to our calendar.

For now, we will not offer food during the talks. To-go snacks will be provided at 11:50am for you to take back to your office and eat before or after the talk. So that the audience can remain masked, there will be no eating during the talk itself.

Lunchtime talks will be on a slightly compacted schedule: Food will be available at 11:50am. The talk will start at 12:10 and end at 1:00pm sharp. Q&A will be from 1:00pm to 1:30pm.

Most Annual Lecture Series talks will be in person, but a few might be on line. Attendees will be masked, and contact tracing in place. In person talks will also be streamed. Zoom links will be posted to our calendar.

Workshops & Conferences will be in person and attendees will be masked.

Several Online Only events will be offered throughout the year, namely The Center Debates series and the Featured Former Fellow Lunchtime Talk.  See calendar for details.

These policies may change during the semester in light of the pandemic and Pitt’s guidelines.

Goodbye Alex!

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We are sad to announce that Alex Magee, our amazing Program Administrator, has left the Center to take a new position in Pitt’s Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences.

Alex joined the Center just one month before the pandemic shut down our operations in 2020, so most of you will only be familiar with her as a friendly face on Zoom.  However, behind the scenes, Alex was an incredible asset to the Center’s operations.  We will miss her diligence and unflagging dedication to the Center’s programs, but we congratulate her on her new position!

Archival Fellowship

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archives of scientific philosophy
Courtesy of the ULS

The Summer Archival Fellowship is open for applications.

This unique position will give the appointee the opportunity to work with the University of Pittsburgh Library System’s one-of-a-kind Archives of Scientific Philosophy.  Here you can find notes, drafts, personal papers, and more from Carnap, Hempel, Reichenbach, and others.

The Fellowship will be for one month in summer 2021.  For more details and to apply, see here.

The Center’s Pandemic Response, Spring Term 2021

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As the University of Pittsburgh moves to the Spring semester, we are committed to providing the same challenging, stimulating programs for which the Center has been known for sixty years, albeit adapted to our new reality.
We will be fully complying with the University’s COVID-19 guidelines and operational postures as outlined here:
https://www.coronavirus.pitt.edu

 

As a result, we will be adopting the changes below for Spring 2021, beginning January 16:

 

Annual Lecture Series

All of the Annual Lecture Series talks scheduled in the Spring will be held online.
View the schedule here.

 

Lunchtime Talks

Lunchtime Talks will be online during the entirety of the Spring 2021 term.

 

Conferences

ANCESTRY: EVIDENCE, INFERENCE, AND IDENTITY (January 22, 2021 – January 23, 2021) will be held online.  Details here.

Nick Hugget’s Senior Visiting Fellow conference will be re-imagined as a series of online seminars. More details TBA.

 

Fellows

Our Fellows are the lifeblood of the Center and their wellbeing is of the utmost importance to us.

If the University of Pittsburgh adopts the guarded posture by early February, some Fellows’ activities will be moved to in-person on March 1. A decision will be made early in February.

If the University of Pittsburgh adopts the intermediate posture throughout the semester, all the Fellows’ activities will be online.

 

Staffing

In accordance with University guidelines, Center staff will continue to work remotely. If you need to contact any of our staff, you can find our email addresses here.

Farewell, Carolyn

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Carolyn Oblak, the Center’s Assistant Director, has retired!

Carolyn joined the Center in late 2015 and has helped usher in many changes and programs that have greatly enriched the Center, including the Pittsburgh Summer Program for Underrepresented Groups, a new website and newsletter, the Grünbaum Memorial conference, and the move to the 11th floor, all while also managing the Visiting Fellows program and keeping us on budget.

Though her last official day was September 30, Carolyn will be with us for a few more weeks helping to train her replacement, Kathleen Labuda.

The Center staff will greatly miss Carolyn’s efficiency, can-do spirit, friendly greetings, handmade gifts, and endless array of healthy smoothie recipes.  Our best wishes for a healthy and fulfilling retirement!

The Center’s Pandemic Response, Fall Term 2020

Posted on by cheryl

As the University of Pittsburgh reopens for the Fall semester, we are committed to providing the same challenging, stimulating programs for which the Center has been known for sixty years, albeit adapted to our new reality.
We will be fully complying with the University’s COVID-19 guidelines and operational postures as outlined here:
https://www.coronavirus.pitt.edu

 

As a result, we will be adopting the changes below for Fall 2020:

Updated Sept.11, 2020
All events moved online for the term.

 

Annual Lecture Series

All of the Annual Lecture Series talks scheduled between Sept – Dec, will be held online.
View the schedule here.

 

Lunchtime Talks

Lunchtime Talks will be online during the entirety of the Fall 2020 term.

 

Conferences

The Problems of Cognitive Ontology conference has been re-imagined as a series of online seminars. More details and registration here.

The Particle and High-Energy Physics Conference has been cancelled.

 

Fellows

Our Fellows are the lifeblood of the Center and their wellbeing is of the utmost importance to us. Fall Fellows will participate virtually.

 

Staffing

In accordance with University guidelines, Center staff will continue to work remotely. If you need to contact any of our staff, you can find our email addresses here.

COVID-19 Update

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Due to concerns about the spread of coronavirus, the Center for Philosophy of Science along with the University of Pittsburgh, will be enacting changes to limit face-to-face group settings.

To this end, we are cancelling all Center events for the remainder of Spring term.  This includes:

  • The “Problems of Cognitive Ontology” conference
  • Annual Lecture Series talk scheduled for March 20
  • Lunchtime Talks

Please continue to check back here for any updates or notices of virtual programs, and continue to engage with us on social media.

For further information, here is the University of Pittsburgh Chancellor’s official statement on COVID-19 changes.

 

New! Summer Archival Fellowship

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We invite applications for a new month-long Summer Archival Fellowship supporting a visit in the Center and research at the Archives of Scientific Philosophy.

The Summer Archival Fellowship is available for June or July 2020.

The Summer Archival Fellow will be given an office at the Center and will receive a $1,500 stipend.

Please send by March 15, 2020 the following materials to Carolyn Oblak (cjo13@pitt.edu):

(1) A cover letter that indicates a Summer Archival Fellowship is sought and describes: the month of proposed residence in the Center; note previous fellowships at the Center.
(2) A description of the research to be undertaken at the Archives of Scientific Philosophy during residence (1500 words).
(3) A curriculum vitae.

We particularly welcome submissions from members of underrepresented groups in philosophy of science.

Welcome Alex!

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We would like to welcome Alexandra Magee to the Center staff!  Alex will be taking over Joyce McDonald’s (many) roles and responsibilities, including planning our Lunchtime Talks and Annual Lecture Series.

Alex came to the Center after working in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences Office of Student Records.  She is pursuing a Master of Education in Higher Education Management at the University of Pittsburgh.  In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family and friends.

Stop by and say “Hello!”

Farewell Joyce

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Joyce McDonald is retiring in February 2020.
Joyce has served the University of Pittsburgh, and the Center for Philosophy of Science for 25 years, having worked with four Center Directors (Jerry Massey, James Lennox, John D. Norton, and Edouard Machery), supported hundreds of Fellows, and been the organizing force behind countless Lunchtime Talks and Annual Lecture Series events.  Her warm and personal style has helped to make the Center a “home away from home” for our Fellows and many guests.