Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Call for Applications: International Summer School in Philosophy of Physics on the PHILOSOPHY OF QUANTUM GRAVITY

Hosted by the University of Geneva and the University of Illinois at Chicago Space and Time After Quantum Gravity project 

Williams Bay, Wisconsin, USA 
June 19-24, 2016 

Further information, when available, at http://beyondspacetime.net/2016summerschool/

Quantum theories of gravity, as diverse and incomplete as they may be, promise to revolutionize our conception of the fundamental structure of reality. For instance, the world we inhabit may be non-spatiotemporal at the ground level. The philosophical implications of quantum gravity may thus be far-reaching, but what exactly are these implications and how will they affect our philosophical conceptions? Conversely, the formulation of a quantum theory of gravity forces the theorists to address foundational, indeed philosophical questions, for their theory-building. Such questions include the metaphysical implications of quantum gravity, or the nature of phenomenological spacetime in string theory. These are just some of the questions that we will discuss in this Summer School, which addresses graduate students and postdocs from philosophy of physics and related fields. 

Faculty (we expect to announce more): 

• Gordon Belot (Michigan) 
• Nick Huggett (Illinois at Chicago) 
• Jenann Ismael (Arizona) 
• Keizo Matsubara (Illinois at Chicago)
• Amanda Peet (Toronto) 
• Carlo Rovelli (Marseille) 
• Christian Wuthrich (Geneva) 

Organizing Committee: 

Nick Huggett 
Christian Wuthrich 
Keizo Matsubara 

The intended audience for the Summer School are Masters students, PhD students, and postdocs working or planning to work in the intersection between physics and philosophy. We will also consider applications from philosophers and physicists wishing to expand their existing research interests to include the philosophical implications of quantum gravity. We will furthermore consider applications from members of the general public who can demonstrate an acquaintance with the subject equivalent to the Master’s level. 

To apply for the Summer School, candidates should submit: 

• A cover letter of no more than one page describing your current research interest and its relevance to the topic of the Summer School; please explain as specifically as possible how the summer school will benefit your research plans. 
• A current CV. 
• A short letter from your advisor or other person knowledgeable of your work, expressing your suitability. 
• Optional: participants wishing to present their own work need to submit a title and a 500-word abstract. If accepted, they will get the opportunity to present their work. 

Please combine all your documents into one PDF file and upload it to http://https://easychair. org/conferences/?conf=isspqg2016 by March 16, 2016. Decisions will be made by early April. 

The Organizing Committee will select the admitted participants based on the academic strength of their file and the pertinence of their interests; in other words, we will consider how much the candidate is likely to benefit from attending the Summer School and how much the Summer School would likely benefit from the attendance of the candidate and try to maximize the sum of the benefits. 

The Summer School is generously supported by the John Templeton Foundation and will thus be free of charge for accepted participants, including room and board. Participants are responsible for their travel to and from the site of the Summer School, and for incidentals such as beverages.