News for April 2010

Fernando Gil International Prize

The creation of the Fernando Gil International Prize for the Philosophy of Science was announced by the Portuguese government at the time of his death, to honor his memory and work (1937-2006).

The Fernando Gil International Prize will be awarded every year in Lisbon. The Prize is launched as a joint initiative of the Portuguese government, represented by FCT, the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education), and FCG, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

The Prize intends to reward a work of particular excellence, in the domain of the Philosophy of Science, by a researcher from any nationality or professional affiliation, published during the three previous years.

The recipient of the Prize is requested to deliver an original public lecture that will be published by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and to conduct a specialized seminar for students and researchers in Lisbon on the occasion of the Prize ceremony.

The amount to be paid to the laureate will be 125,000 €.

Jury

The jury of the Fernando Gil International Prize 2010 includes the following members:

• Henri Atlan (Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem & École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris)
• Per Aage Brandt (Case Western Reserve University)
• Marcelo Dascal (Tel Aviv University)
• Vincent Descombes (École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris)
• Donald Gillies (University College, London)
• Giulio Giorello (Università degli Studi di Milano)
• Eberhard Knobloch (Institut für Philosophie, Technische Universität Berlin)
• Maria Filomena Molder (Departamento de Filosofia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa)
• Frédéric Nef (École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris)
• Jean Petitot (École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, Paris)
• Massimo Piattelli–Palmarini (University of Arizona, Tucson & MIT)
• Bertrand Saint–Sernin (Institut de France)
• Manuel Silvério Marques (Centro de Filosofia, Universidade de Lisboa)

Nominations

Nominations to the Fernando Gil International Prize 2010 should include a short description of the work being nominated and the justification of its relevance to Philosophy of Science. They should be received between March 19 and June 30, 2010, at 12h00 UTC, at the following address:
premio–filosofia@fernando–gil.org.pt

Nominations from the nominees themselves cannot be accepted.

PSA Election Results

On behalf of the Governing Board of the Philosophy of Science Association, it is my pleasure to announce the results of the most recent PSA election.

Stephan Hartmann of Tilburg University, Roberta Millstein of the University of California-Davis, Nancy Nersessian of the Georgia Institute of Technology, and Andrea Woody of the University of Washington were elected to the Governing Board for the PSA, where each will serve a two-year term from January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2011. The Officers of the PSA congratulate Professors Hartmann and Millstein, and congratulate and welcome back Professors Nersessian and Woody for their second terms on the PSA Governing Board. The Officers also offer deep appreciation and thanks to Craig Callender of the University of California--San Diego and Alan Hájek of the Australian National Research University, both of whom are stepping down from the Board after serving two consecutive two-year terms.

Margaret Morrison of the University of Toronto, C. Kenneth Waters of the University of Minnesota, and Alison Wylie of Cambridge University/University of Washington were elected to serve as the new Nominating Committee for the PSA, where each will serve a two year term beginning January 1, 2009 and ending December 31, 2011. Along with a congratulations to the new Nominating Committee, the Officers of the PSA warmly thank the PSA's previous Nominating Committee, comprised of its chair, James Joyce of the University of Michigan, Rachel Ankeny of the University of Adelaide, and Roman Frigg of the London School of Economics and Political Science.

The proposed amendment to the PSA's By-Laws passed, 244-15. That means that in the upcoming 2010 PSA Election new Governing Board members will be elected to serve a single term of four years, and also limited to serving one consecutive term. The revised version of the PSA By-Laws will be posted shortly at http://www.philsci.org/about/bylaws.html.

Finally, I am happy to report that of the 755 Full Members of the PSA eligible to vote at the election's start, 267, or slightly more than 35%, voted electronically in response to email solicitations. This is a slight drop from the 38% turn-out for 2008, possibly to be attributed to this being an odd-numbered, and thus non-Presidential, PSA Election.

I thank those many Full PSA members took the time to vote in this election. This PSA Election ran smoothly due in large part to the experience and dedication of Jay Malone and his staff at the History of Science Society. If you are a Full Member of the PSA and you encountered problems in voting electronically, though, or if you have any other comments, questions, or concerns about the 2009 PSA Election, please contact me at ghardcas@bloomu.edu.

Sincerely,
Gary Hardcastle

PSA Women's Caucus Prize: Call for Nominations

The Philosophy of Science Association Women's Caucus plans to offer a prize biennially for the best book, article, or book chapter published in English in the area of feminist philosophy of science within the five years prior to each PSA meeting. The first Prize will be awarded in November 2010 at the Association's meeting in Montreal. The deadline for nominations is May 1, 2010. Nominations, including self-nominations, are strongly encouraged (though not required). The winner will receive a cash award of $500. Nominations should be submitted to both Co-Chairs of the PSA Women’s Caucus:

• Kristen Intemann intemann@montana.edu
• Kathleen Okruhlik okruhlik@uwo.ca