September/October 2012: Roberta Millstein

Post date: Sep 3, 2012 4:56:15 PM

Roberta L. Millstein University of California, DavisRoberta L. Millstein is Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Davis, where she is affiliated with the Science and Technology Studies program and the John Muir Institute of the Environment. Her research interests are in the history and philosophy of biology, the philosophy of science, and environmental ethics. Millstein's research interests include the way that general topics in the philosophy of science, such as causation, mechanisms, probability, and determinism, illuminate and are illuminated by topics in evolutionary biology and ecology. Recent work examines the concepts of 'fitness,' 'population', and 'random drift'; race and sexual selection; and connections between population genetics and ecology. She is currently working on projects exploring Patricia Gowatyʼs adaptively flexible sex role model, on the importance of interconnectedness in Aldo Leopoldʼs Land Ethic, and on different types of field experiments (in contrast to laboratory experiments). She is also a co-editor of the forthcoming Mechanism and Causality in Biology and Economics with Hsiang-Ke Chao and Szu-Ting Chen.

Prior to her current position at UC Davis, Millstein had a position at CSU East Bay/ Hayward and a visiting position at the University of Pittsburgh. She was twice elected as Secretary of the International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science, where she served for four years, in addition to serving the Society for many years in capacities such as the listserv moderator and webmaster. She is currently on the Governing Board for the Philosophy of Science Association, and is webmaster/ listserv moderator for the PSA Women's Caucus.