Current Researchers
Visiting Scholars | Postdoctoral Scholars | Ph.D. Fellows | Visiting Graduate Students
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Thomas Burri
February – May 2024
Thomas Burri is a professor of international law and European law at the University of St. Gallen Law School in Switzerland. He holds a Ph.D. in international law from the University of Zurich and an LL.M. in European law (College of Europe, Bruges) and is admitted to the Zurich bar. He was previously a visiting researcher at Harvard University, University of Queensland, and Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich. He has researched the law and ethics of technology, including autonomous robots and A.I., for more than a decade. His most recent publication: "Thomas Burri, A Challenge for the Law and A.I., 2023 Nature Machine Intelligence (5) 1508" – other publications also on SSRN.
Postdoctoral Scholars
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Derek Halm
Derek Halm is a postdoctoral scholar at the Institute for Practical Ethics at UC San Diego. He is an applied environmental ethicist and philosopher of biology with broad interests in environmental conservation and animal welfare. He is working on several projects, including the conservation of hybrid species.Derek received his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Utah, his master’s degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University, and his bachelor’s degree in philosophy and English from the University of Michigan-Flint.
Ph.D. Fellows
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Ross Graham
2023 – 2024
2021 – 2022
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Leo Kleiman-Lynch
2022 – 2024
Leo Kleiman-Lynch is currently a Ph.D. student in the Department of Psychology. He obtained his master’s degree in experimental psychology from UC San Diego, and his undergraduate degree in applied psychology from Ithaca College.
His research focuses primarily on how and why default choices affect the decisions people make. With the institute, he plans to explore how strategic use of default choices can help low-income households make energy decisions that are aligned with their preferences.
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Kathryne Metcalf
2022 – 2024
Kathryne Metcalf is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Communication and Science Studies Program, where she is also the co-organizer of the Critical Data Studies Working Group. She holds a master’s degree in American culture studies from Bowling Green State University, and a bachelor’s degree in literary studies from Beloit College.
Her work explores how databases function as the epistemic grammar of big data sciences. Her current project examines the role of biobanks — institutional collections of biomaterials and related data — as a critical infrastructure within the interdisciplinary research ecologies of contemporary genomics.
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Lian Song
2022 – 2024
Lian Song is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Communication and Science Studies Program. His research examines the emerging processes and promise of community-led deliberation and power over socio-technical systems. His current project explores political configurations in relation to urban surveillance and database systems, especially as they mediate local government and community actors.
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Karina Villa Ortiz
2022 – 2024
Karina Villa Ortiz is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Philosophy. She earned her undergraduate degree in philosophy at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
Her current research interests are in Epistemology (social and formal), Philosophy of Law (as it intersects with epistemology) and Applied Ethics. Her current research projects include questions about animal cognition (such as how dogs understand time and build concepts) as well as the use of artificial intelligence in immigration enforcement.
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Sophie Webb
2022 – 2024
Sophie Webb is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Sociology. Her research interests include bioethics, public health and health inequities, while her current project focuses on the pathway from ethics to implementation in public health. As a fellow at the Institute for Practical Ethics, she will be investigating what effect different prioritizations of COVID vaccines have had on health disparities.