Lectures
2023
“Conversations across Disagreement, Difference, and Discipline”, The Octet Collaborative, MIT, Cambridge, MA, December 2023. [invited]
“The Biological Trait Concept and Character Identity Mechanisms”, 64th Annual Lecture Series, Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, November 2023. [invited]
“The Hierarchical Basis of Serial Homology and Evolutionary Novelty” (with Günter Wagner), PhilInBioMed Seminar – Institute for Philosophy in Biology and Medicine, University of Bordeaux, October 2023. [invited] [online]
“Character identity mechanisms versus deep homology in neuroarchitecture”, Philosophy Keynote Lecture, Philosophy & Neuroscience @The Gulf VI, Pensacola, FL, September 2023. [invited]
“The Epistemic Power of Proxies – Perspectives From Experimental Life Science” (with Stephan Guttinger), European Philosophy of Science Association Meeting, Belgrade, Serbia, September 2023.
“Mechanisms and Principles: Two Kinds of Scientific Generalization” (with Yoshinari Yoshida), European Philosophy of Science Association Meeting, Belgrade, Serbia, September 2023.
“Roles for Theory and Technology in Evo-devo: Formulating a Research Agenda for Conceptual Progress”, EMBO Lecture Course, Venice Summer School: The future of evolutionary developmental systems biology, Venice, Italy, August 2023. [invited]
“Perspectives on the Study of Agency Within and Across Biological Sciences”, Principles of Intelligent Behavior in Biological and Social Systems, August 2023. [invited] [online]
“The Place of Functional Morphology in 21st Century Evolutionary Biology”, 17th International Congress of Logic, Methodology, and Philosophy of Science, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 2023.
“Function, Traits, and the Physics of Animal Movement”, International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology Meeting, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, July 2023.
“Modeling Teleology: Epistemic Precision with Scientific Payoff” (with Max Dresow), Philosophy and Biology Shop Talks, Greensboro, NC, June 2023.
“On the Disunity of the Biological Trait Concept”, Traits of Contention: Character Identification and Comparative Thinking in Evolutionary, Developmental, and Behavioural Biology, KU-Leuven, Leuven, Belgium, May 2023. [invited]
“Temporal Scales in Evolution: Concepts, Data, and Methods”, Advancing 21st Century Evolutionary Biology with Evolvability in the Fossil Record, Lund University, Lund, Sweden, April 2023. [invited]
“Epistemological Prerequisites for a Developmental Biology of Intrinsic Purposiveness”, Toward a Science of Intrinsic Purposiveness: Shaping Development, Université Paris 1 Panthéon – Sorbonne, March 2023. [invited]
“Teleonomy: Revisiting a Proposed Conceptual Replacement for Teleology” [poster presentation], &HPS9, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, March 2023.
“Not Bottom-up but Middle-out: The Necessity of Mesoscale Experimentation” (with Jonathan Butcher [Cornell]), Biological Engineering Collaboratory, February 2023. [online]
“Between Philosophy and Biology: Interdisciplinarity in Theory and Practice”, Department of Integrative Biology & Physiology Seminar Series, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, February 2023. [invited]
2022
“Facts, Objectivity, Failure, & Trust: Reconceiving Science(s) for Engagement with Theology”, The Role of Philosophy of Science in Science-Engaged Theology, American Academy of Religion Meeting, Denver, CO, November 2022. [invited]
“Nonstatistical Inductive Inference in Experimental Biology” [with Pamela Reinagel], Philosophy in Biology and Medicine 2022, Pittsburgh, PA, November 2022.
“Conceptual Roles of Evolvability across Evolutionary Biology: Between Diversity and Unification” [with Ingo Brigandt], Philosophy in Biology and Medicine 2022, Pittsburgh, PA, November 2022.
“Agency, Directionality and Function: Foundations for a Science of Purpose” [with Max Dresow], Philosophy of Science Association Biennial Meeting Poster Session, Pittsburgh, PA, November 2022.
“Mapping the Teleological Landscape: Epistemic Precision with Scientific Payoff” [with Max Dresow], Philosophy of Science Association Biennial Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA, November 2022.
“Case-based Inquiry and Reproducibility: A Preliminary Account”, Mapping the Frontiers of Scientific Reproducibility: Foundational Questions, Stillwater, MN, November 2022.
“Stress-induced Evolutionary Adaptation versus Stress-induced Evolutionary Innovation”, Comparative Physiology: From Organisms to Omics, American Physiological Society Meeting, San Diego, CA, October 2022. [invited]
“The Place of Functional Morphology in 21st century Evolutionary Biology”, Modes, Forms, and Structure: Transformation of and in evolutionary biology. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany, September 2022. [invited]
“Reframing research on evolutionary novelty and co-option: Character identity mechanisms versus deep homology”, 4th Biennial Meeting of the Pan-American Society for Evolutionary Developmental Biology Poster Presentation, Vancouver, Canada, July 2022.
“Teleonomy: The Deep History and Uncertain Future of a (Fuzzy) Concept”, Thermodyanmics 2.0 (International Association for the Integration of Science and Engineering), Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, July 2022. [invited] [online]
“That Darwin’s theory was essentially complete once he came up with the idea of natural selection”, Darwin Mythology Meeting, University of Geneva, Switzerland, July 2022. [online]
“Mapping Teleology in Practice: Epistemic Precision with Scientific Payoff” [with Max Dresow], Society for Philosophy of Science in Practice, University of Ghent, Belgium, July 2022.
“Thinking about Stress Interdisciplinarily: Staying Calm in Collaboration”, Bordeaux Summer School: Philosophy in Biology and Medicine, University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France, June 2022. [invited]
“Evaluating the Heterogeneous Causal Basis of Biological Dispositions: A New Framework”, Dispositions in the Life Sciences: Contemporary and Historical Perspectives, Trier University, Trier, Germany, June 2022. [invited]
“New Perspectives on Biological Teleology: Concepts and Controversies”, Burian-McNabb Lecture, Department of Science and Technology Studies, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, April 2022. [invited]
“Diverse Phenomena, Multiple Questions, Many Methods: Reflections on Biological Inquiry”, Re-examining the Role of Statistical Methods in Biology Research, The Banbury Center at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, Lloyd Harbor, NY, April 2022. [invited]
“Reflections on Reproducibility: What Have We Learned?”, Methods and American Politics Colloquium, Department of Political Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, April 2022. [invited] [online]
2021
“Conservation and Function in Comparative Genomics” [with Stephan Güttinger], Philosophy of Science Association Biennial Meeting Poster Session, Baltimore, MD, November 2021.
“Dissolving the ENCODE function controversy” [with Stephan Guttinger], 8th Biennial Conference of the European Philosophy of Science Association Poster Session, Turin, Italy, September 2021. [online]
“Mixed Motives, Tracking Methods, and Why It Matters: Comments on “Tracking Adam’s Bloodline” by David N. Livingstone”, American Scientific Affiliation Conference, Chicago, IL, July 2021. [invited] [online]
“Co-option of Stress Mechanisms in the Origin of Evolutionary Novelties”, International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, NY, July 2021. [online]
“Situating Evolutionary Developmental Biology in Evolutionary Theory”, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany, July 2021. [invited] [online]
“Naturalness, Death, and Conceptual Complexity: Comments on “The Wages of Sin? Biblical Anthropology, Biological Evolution, and Human Death” by Gijsbert van den Brink”, Dabar Conference, Henry Center for Theological Understanding, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Chicago, IL, June 2021. [invited] [online]
“Situating Evolutionary Developmental Biology in Evolutionary Theory”, American Society of Naturalists Symposium at Virtual Evolution 2021 (Society for the Study of Evolution, the Society of Systematic Biologists, and the American Society of Naturalists), June 2021. [invited] [online]
“Co-option of Stress Mechanisms in the Origin of Evolutionary Novelties”, Institute on Child Development Colloquium, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, April 2021. [invited] [online]
Commentator on “Pursuitworthiness, Inductive Risk and ‘Female Viking Warriors’” by Rune Nyrup, International Postdoctoral Forum for Philosophy of Science, Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, April 2021. [online]
“Diverse Roles, Multiples Meanings: The Concept of Stress in Biological Research” [with Lauren Wilson], Philosophy of Science Association Biennial Meeting Poster Session, January 2021. [online]
“Conservation and Function in Comparative Genomics” [with Stephan Güttinger], Philosophy of Science Association Biennial Meeting Poster Session, January 2021. [online]
“Scientific failure: What is Normal?” [with Stephan Güttinger], Philosophy of Science Association Biennial Meeting Poster Session, January 2021. [online]
Commentator on “Ontological Agnosticism About Topological Explanations” by Tarja Knnuttila and Andrea Loettgers, Modeling the Possible Workshop Series, University of Vienna, Austria, January 2021. [invited] [online]
2020
“Modeling the Possible for the Purpose of Experimental Intervention”, Modeling the Possible Workshop, University of Vienna, Austria, December 2020. (invited) [online]
“Mechanical Epigenetics in Nervous System Ontogeny: Challenges for Integration and a Puzzle for Reductionism”, Keynote Address, Philosophy and Neuroscience at the Gulf III, Mississippi State University, MS, October 2020. (invited) [online]
“What Conceptual Roles can Evolvability Play in Evolutionary Biology?”, Centre for Advanced Study, Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, Oslo, Norway, June 2020. [online]
“Leveraging Practice-Based Philosophy of Science for Cross-Disciplinary Research, Teaching, and Engagement”, Department of Sociology, Philosophy, and Anthropology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK, February 2020. (invited)
2019
“Evolvability, Predictability, Reproducibility”, Centre for Advanced Study, Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, Oslo, Norway, November 2019. (invited)
“Reasoning about Developmental Phenomena: Analogies and Principles versus Manipulation and Mechanisms”, Keynote Lecture, XX Jornadas Rolando Chuaqui Kettlun, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile, August 2019. (invited)
“Evolvability: Philosophical Issues” [with Ingo Brigandt], Evolvability: A new and unifying concept in evolutionary biology?, Centre for Advanced Study, Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, Oslo, Norway, August 2019. (invited)
“Characterizing Stem Cell Niches: Experimental Practices of Individuation”, Philosophical Perspectives on Ecological Niches, University of Münster, Münster, Germany, July 2019. (invited)
“Environment, Innovation, and Evolvability: Mapping the Conceptual Landscape” [with Brenna Urmanski], International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, University of Oslo, Norway, July 2019.
“Chance, Evolution, and the Metaphysical Implications of Paleontological Practice”, Workshop on Randomness and Providence, Casablanca, Morocco, June 2019. (invited)
“Structuring Knowledge in Evolutionary Biology”, Keynote Lecture, Evolution Evolving: Process, Mechanism, and Theory, Churchill College, University of Cambridge, UK, April 2019. (invited)
“In Praise of Scientific Failure?", Open Science Discussion. Office for Research and Policy, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, March 2019. (invited)
2018
“Positional Information and the Measurement of Specificity”, Philosophy of Science Association Meeting, Seattle, WA, November 2018.
“Positional Information and the Measurement of Specificity”, Society for Philosophy of Science in Practice, University of Ghent, Belgium, June 2018.
“Analogies and Principles versus Manipulation and Mechanisms: Reasoning about Developmental Phenomena”, The conceptual legacy of On Growth and Form: interdisciplinary perspectives. University of St. Andrews, Scotland, UK, June 2018.
“On Growth and Form: A Centennial Perspective”, Institute on Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, March 2018. (invited)
“Manipulating Levels of Organization”, Hierarchy and Levels of Organization in the Biological Sciences, KLI Institute, Altenberg, Austria, March 2018. (invited)
“Developmental Biology and the Modern Synthesis: Perspectives and Prospects for Integrating Development and Evolution”, Integrating Development and Inheritance, Santa Fe Institute, New Mexico, February 2018. (invited)
“Scientific Metaphysics, Fundamentality, and Varieties of Pluralism”, American Philosophical Association - Central Division Meeting, Chicago, IL, February 2018. (invited)
“Scientific Metaphysics, Fundamentality, and Varieties of Pluralism”, HPS/Philosophy Colloquium Series, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, January 2018. (invited)
2017
“What is a Conserved (Genetic) Mechanism?”, Society for the Metaphysics of Science, Fordham University, New York, October 2017.
“Methodological Reflections on Achieving an Interdisciplinary Understanding of the Brain and Cognition”, Neuro- PRSMH, Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, September 2017. (invited)
“Temporal Scale and Extrinsic Contributions to Evolvability”, International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, University of São Paolo, Brazil, July 2017.
“On Growth and Form: A Centennial Perspective”, Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of D'Arcy Thompson's "On Growth and Form" (Plenary Session), Society for Developmental Biology, Minneapolis, MN, July 2017. (invited)
“Chance, Evolution, and the Burgess Shale”, Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Banff, Alberta, Canada, June 2017.
“Active Matter and Development: Conceptual Issues”, Georgetown Active Materials Summer School, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, June 2017. (invited)
“The Concept of Chance in Biological Practice”, Workshop on Randomness and Providence, Fetzer Institute, Kalamazoo, MI, May 2017. (invited)
“Explaining the Origin of Evolutionary Novelty”, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, University of Oslo, Norway. March 2017. (invited)
“Developmental Mechanisms”, Science Studies Program, University of Oslo, Norway, March 2017. (invited)
2016
“Physics, Genetics, and Investigative Reasoning in Developmental Biology”, Philosophy Department Colloquium, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI, November 2016. (invited)
“How Cancer Spreads: Reconceptualizing a Disease”, Philosophy of Science Association Meeting, Atlanta, GA, November 2016.
“Characterizing Possibilities: Thought Experiments and Exploratory Experimentation in Biology (and Philosophy): Philosophy Department Colloquium, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN, September 2016. (invited)
“Physics, Genetics, and Investigative Reasoning in Developmental Biology”, National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD, September 2016. (invited)
“Physics, Genetics, and Investigative Reasoning in Developmental Biology”, Sixth International Conference on Integrated History and Philosophy of Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, July 2016.
“From Individuation in Biology to Biological Individuality”, Société de Philosophie des Sciences, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland, June 2016.
“Protocols and Potentiality: From Biological Practice to Scientific Metaphysics”, Keynote Address, Society for Philosophy of Science in Practice, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ, June 2016. (invited)
“Marine Invertebrate Larvae: Phylogeny, Ecology, Biogeography, Development, and Evolution in the mid-20th century”, Marine Biological Laboratories - Arizona State University History of Biology Seminar, Woods Hole, MA, May 2016. (invited)
“Holding in Place a “Social Front” in Science: The Case of Model Organism Research”, From Success Stories to Design Precedents: Generating Knowledge about Public Program- and Organization-like Ventures, Relevant to Professional Practice, through Case-Oriented Research, Gallaudet University, Washington, DC, May 2016. (invited)
“How Cancer Spreads: Reconceptualizing a Disease”, Philosophy Department Colloquium, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, March 2016. (invited)
“Experimental Manipulation, Developmental Potentiality, and the Reality of Dispositions”, American Philosophical Association - Central Division Meeting, Chicago, IL, March 2016.
“Explaining the Origin of Evolutionary Novelty”, Midwest Philosophy Colloquium, University of Minnesota-Morris, February 2016. (invited)
“Conceptual Prerequisites for Testing Hypotheses about the Origins of Metazoan Ontogeny”, A. Watson Armour III Research Seminar Series, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, January 2016. (invited)
2015
“Explaining the Origin of Evolutionary Novelty”, 5th Biological Evolution Workshop, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil, November 2015. (invited)
“Manipulating Possibilities: Thought Experiments and Exploratory Experimentation in Biology”, University of South Dakota, Vermilion, SD, October 2015. (invited)
“Building integrated explanatory models of complex biological phenomena: From Mill’s methods to a causal mosaic”, European Philosophy of Science Association Meeting, Düsseldorf, Germany, September 2015.
“The Experimental Manipulation of Physical Difference Makers in Development”, International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, University of Quebec-Montreal, Canada, July 2015.
“The Centrality of Experiment in the Historical Science Research Program on Evolutionary Novelties”, International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, University of Quebec-Montreal, Canada, July 2015.
“Individuation, Individuality, and Experimental Practice in Developmental Biology”, Society for Philosophy of Science in Practice, University of Aarhus, Denmark, June 2015.
“Ontogeny and Phylogeny: Gould, Heterochrony, and Macroevolution”, Marine Biological Laboratories - Arizona State University History of Biology Seminar, Woods Hole, MA, May 2015. (invited)
“Individuation, Individuality, and Experimental Practice in Developmental Biology”, Annual HPS Alumni Lecture, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh, PA, March 2015. (invited)
“Commentary on Jannai Shields’s ‘The Failure of the Ineliminability Argument for Causal Role Functions’”, American Philosophical Association - Central Division Meeting, St. Louis, MO, February 2015. (invited)
2014
“Individuation and Experimentation in Developmental Biology”, Taiwan Conference on Scientific Individuation, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi, Taiwan, December 2014. (invited)
“Philosophy of Science and Science Education”, 2nd International History, Philosophy and Science Teaching Asian Regional Conference, Taipei, Taiwan, December 2014. (invited)
“The Necessity of HPS in Science Teaching and Open Questions: Heterogeneity, History, Realism, and Worldviews”, Book Panel Commentary on Science Teaching: The Contribution of History and Philosophy of Science (2014) by M. Matthews, 2nd International History, Philosophy and Science Teaching Asian Regional Conference, Taipei, Taiwan, December 2014. (invited)
“Development, not Developmental Biology, Was Left Out of the Modern Synthesis”, Revisiting the History of the Modern Synthesis, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, November 2014. (invited)
“The Idealization of Causation in Mechanistic Explanation”, Philosophy of Science Association Meeting, Chicago, IL, November 2014.
“The Fate of Physical Explanations of Development: Origination, Marginalization, and (Apparent) Restoration”, Explanatory Integration in Developmental Biology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany, October 2014. (invited)
“Explaining the Origins of Multicellularity: Criteria of Adequacy and Epistemological Prerequisites”, The Origins and Consequences of Multicellularity, Konrad Lorenz Institute, Altenberg, Austria, September 2014. (invited)
“The Concept of Potentiality in Developmental Reasoning”, Explaining Development, Istituto Veneto di Scienze Lettere, Venice, Italy, September 2014. (invited)
“The Idealization of Causation in Mechanistic Explanation”, Philosophy of Biology at Madison (POBAM), University of Wisconsin–Madison, May 2014. (invited)
“The Fate of Physical Explanations of Development: Origination, Marginalization, and (Apparent) Restoration”, Ottawa-Carleton Institute of Biology Symposium, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada, May 2014. (invited)
“Methodological Reflections on Achieving an Interdisciplinary Understanding of Brain Function”, Center for Cognitive Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, April 2014. (invited)
“Integrating Generic and Genetic Explanations of Development”, Franke Program in Science and the Humanities, Yale University, New Haven, CT, February 2014. (invited)
2013
"Symposium Commentator for 'Explanation and Understanding in Scientific Practice' Session", American Philosophical Association - Eastern Division Meeting, Baltimore, MD, December 2013. (invited)
"Prolegomenon to a Naturalized Metaphysics of Biological Practice", Organisms, Machines, and Mechanisms (Lake Geneva Biology Interest Group Workshop), University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, December 2013. (invited)
"Physical Explanations of Development Phenomena in Flux, 1950-1990: The Life and Work of J.P. Trinkaus, History of Science Society Meeting, Boston, MA November 2013.
"Comments on William Bechtel's 'Recomposing Biological Mechanisms Through Diagrams and Computational Models'", International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, University of Montpellier, France, July 2013. (invited)
"Generic and Genetic Explanations: Comparing Experimental and Historical Biology", International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, University of Montpellier, France, July 2013.
"The Invisibility of Scientific Practice in Interdisciplinary Explanations", Society for Philosophy of Science in Practice, University of Toronto, Canada, June 2013.
"Microbes Modeling Ontogeny ", Committee on Conceptual Foundations of Science, History and Philosophy of Science Workshop Series, University of Chicago, IL, March 2013. (invited)
"Microbes Modeling Ontogeny", Department of History and Philosophy of Science, Indiana University-Bloomington, IN, January 2013. (invited)
2012
"Reconceiving Science: Beyond Methodological Naturalism", Department of Theology, University of St. Thomas, MN, December 2012. (invited)
"Session Commentator for 'Animal Models beyond Genetics'", History of Science Association Meeting, San Diego, CA, November 2012.
"From Microbial Methods to Metazoan Ontogeny: Multilevel Modeling of Biological Phenomena", Philosophy of Science Association Meeting, San Diego, CA, November 2012.
“Combining Genetic and Physical Causation in Explanations of Ontogeny”, Philosophical Perspectives on Causal Reasoning in Biology, Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Minnesota, MN, May 2012. (invited)
“Interdisciplinarity, Social Neuroscience, and Multilevel Explanation: Combining Actual Difference Makers in Consensus Periodizations”, Complexity Network, Phoenix, Arizona, April 2012.
“Methodological Naturalism Reconceived (or Elided?)”, Department of Philosophy, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI, April 2012. (invited)
“Methodological Naturalism Reconceived (or Elided?)”, Department of Physics, Wheaton College, IL, April 2012. (invited)
“Combining Genetic and Physical Causation in Explanations of Ontogeny”, Department of Philosophy, St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN, March 2012. (invited)
“Apportioning Causal Responsibility in Reductive Explanations of Ontogeny”, Distinguished Speaker Series, The Committee on the History and Philosophy of Science, UC-Boulder, Boulder, CO, February 2012. (invited)
2011
“Dimensions of Integration in Historical Explanation: Physics, Genetics, and the Origins of Evolutionary Novelty”, Integration in Contemporary Biology: Philosophical Perspectives on the Dynamics of Interdisciplinarity, Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science, Minneapolis, MN, September 2011.
“Physics Meets Biology in Evo-devo”, International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, July 2011.
“Doing Biology More Philosophically?”, International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, July 2011. (invited)
“Theory is as theory does...”, Altenberg Workshop in Theoretical Biology – ‘The Meaning of “Theory” in Biology’, Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution & Cognition Research, Altenberg, Austria, July 2011. (invited)
“Modeling Experimental Evidence from the Practices of Developmental Biology”, Society for the Philosophy of Science in Practice, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK, June 2011.
“Revisiting Evolutionary Emergence in Contemporary Biology”, Matter, Life, Mind - Common Foundational Problems, Parmenides Foundation, Munich – Pullach, Germany, June 2011. (invited)
“Formal versus Material Theories in Philosophy of Science: A Methodological Interpretation”, American Philosophical Association - Pacific Division Meeting, San Diego, CA, April 2011.
“Pluralism, Hierarchical Explanations, and the Metaphysics of Science”, American Philosophical Association - Central Division Meeting, Minneapolis, MN, March 2011. (invited)
“Reduction and Emergence: Between Science and Philosophy”, Chicago Social Brain Network Symposium, Ft. Myers, FL, February 2011. (invited)
“Asa Gray and Conceptual Change: Teleology and Variation”, History of Science Brown Bag Lunch Series, University of Wisconsin – Madison, WI, February 2011. (invited)
“Darwin’s Functional Reasoning, Homology, and the Structure(s) of Evolutionary Theory”, Evolution Seminar Series, University of Wisconsin – Madison, WI, February 2011. (invited)
2010
“The Developmental Basis of Novelty – Reflections on Explanatory Integration”, SSHRC workshop on ‘Perspectives on Evolutionary Novelty and Evo-devo: Integrating Explanatory Approaches in Biology’, McGill University – Redpath Museum, Montreal, Canada, November 2010.
“Modeling Experimental Evidence in Developmental Biology: In Situ Hybridization and Serial Idealization”, Philosophy of Scientific Experimentation Workshop, Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh, PA, October 2010.
“Reductionism and Evolutionary Explanations of Morality: Necessary Prerequisites “, Evolution and Ethics Conference, Peking University, Beijing, China, October 2010. (invited)
“Models of Time for Reductive Explanations in Experimental Biology”, Types of Explanation in the Special Sciences –The Case of Biology and History, University of Cologne, Germany, September/October 2010. (invited)
“Sciences without Theories: Structured Problems in Developmental Biology”, Institute for History and Philosophy of Science and Technology – Philosophy of Biology Seminar, University of Paris, France, September 2010. (invited)
“A Pluralist Stance on Top-Down Causation”, Top-Down Causation: An Integrating Theme Within and Across the Sciences, The Royal Society, London, UK, September 2010. (invited)
“Pluralism, Reduction, and the Metaphysics of Science”, Science Engages Metaphysics: Emergence, Reduction and Explanation, Wheaton College Science Station, Black Hills, SD, July 2010. (invited)
“Evolutionary Innovation and Novelty: Conceptual Developments Since Dahlem”, Conceptual Change in Biological Science: Evolutionary Developmental Biology, 1981-2011, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Dahlem, Berlin, July 2010.
“Reductionism and the Philosophy of Biology”, lectures delivered for the St. Thomas Summer Seminar in Philosophy of Religion and Philosophical Theology, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN, June 2010. (invited)
“The Origin and Evolution of Marine Invertebrate Larval Forms: Historical and Philosophical Perspectives”, Evolutionary Transitions in Marine Invertebrate Larval Forms, Picker Interdisciplinary Science Institute, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY, June 2010. (invited)
“Commentary on Andrew Margenot and Derek Turner’s ‘Contingency and Relative Significance Debates in Biology’”, American Philosophical Association - Pacific Division Meeting, San Francisco, CA, April 2010. (invited)
“Modeling Experimental Evidence: Idealization and In Situ Hybridization”, The Experimental Side of Modeling – II, San Francisco State University, CA, March 2010. (invited)
“Evo-devo and Individuating Evolutionary Theory: A Different Kind of Challenge”, Challenges to Evolutionary Theory: An Interdisciplinary Workshop, University of Toronto, Canada, March 2010. (invited)
“Sciences without Theories?”, American Philosophical Association - Central Division Meeting, Chicago, IL, February 2010.
“Three Aspects of Reductive Explanations in Biological Science”, Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science Colloquium, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, January 2010.
2009
“Aspects of Reductive Explanations in Biological Science: Intrinsicality, Fundamentality, and Temporality”, Emergence and Reduction in the Sciences – Second Pittsburgh-Paris Workshop, Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh, PA, December 2009.
“Darwin and Philosophy of Biology: Structure, Novelty, and Interdisciplinarity”, 150 Years of Evolution: Darwin’s Impact on the Humanities and the Social Sciences, San Diego State University, CA, November 2009. (invited)
“Mechanisms for Generating Novel Variants: Conceptual Issues and Questions”, SSHRC workshop on ‘Integrating different biological approaches’, University of Alberta, Edmonton, November 2009.
“Formal versus Material Theories in Philosophy of Science”, European Philosophy of Science Association Meeting, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, October 2009.
“The Structure of Biological Problems and Explaining Evolutionary Novelties: Scientific and Philosophical Implications”, Symposium on Philosophy of Evolution, University of Groningen, The Netherlands, October 2009. (invited)
“Evolutionary Innovations and Multidisciplinary Explanation in Biology: Prospects and Problems”, Symposium on ‘Evolutionary Innovations: Where Ecology, Development And Macroevolution Intersect’, AAAS-Pacific Division, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, August 2009.
“Investigating the Meaning of Biological Information with Noise”, International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, July 2009.
“The Heterogeneity of Experimental Practices in Developmental Biology: Epistemological Implications”, Society for the Philosophy of Science in Practice, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, June 2009.
“Temporal Dimensions of Reductionism in Biology”, American Philosophical Association - Pacific Division Meeting, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, April 2009.
“Temporal Dimensions of Reductionism in Biology”, Department of Philosophy, MSU – Mankato, MN, March 2009.*
2008
“Rethinking Conceptual Change in the Context of Evolutionary Developmental Biology”, Western Canadian Philosophical Association Meeting, University of Alberta, Edmonton, October 2008.
“The Structure of Evolutionary Theory and Biological Knowledge”, 18th Altenberg Workshop in Theoretical Biology - 'Towards an Extended Evolutionary Synthesis', Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution & Cognition Research, Altenberg, Austria, July 2008. (invited)
“Asa Gray’s Evolving Perspective on Teleology, Variation, and Natural Theology”, International Society for the History of Philosophy of Science Meeting 2008, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, June 2008.
“Development and Evolution in Context: Embryos in Erotetic Dialogue”, Marine Biological Laboratories - Arizona State University History of Biology Seminar, Woods Hole, MA, May 2008. (invited)
“Temporal Dimensions of Reductionism in Biology”, Science Studies Symposium: McKnight Summer Fellows Presentation (“Thinking Through Science: Philosophical Perspectives on Biology, Geography, and History”), University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, May 2008.
“The Structure of Evolutionary Theory and Biological Knowledge: Epistemic Materials for a 21st Century Synthesis”, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, SUNY – Stony Brook, New York, March 2008. (invited)
2007
“Respondent to Kevin Theissen’s ‘Global Warming: What We Know and What We Do Not Know’”, North Central Program for Science and Theology, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN, November 2007. (invited)
“Consequences of an Intelligent Discussion about Design with Darwin: Asa Gray’s Evolving Perspective on Teleology and Natural Theology”, &HPS – Conference in Integrated History and Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, October 2007.
“Explanatory Adequacy in Philosophical Analyses of Reductionism” , International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK, July 2007.
“Functional Homology and Homology of Function”, International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK, July 2007.
“Reduction, Representation, and Temporality in Explanations of Ontogeny”, Center for Philosophy and Ethics of Science, University of Hannover, Hannover, Germany, June 2007. (invited)
“Reduction, Representation, and Temporality in Explanations of Ontogeny”, Department of Philosophy, University of Münster, Münster, Germany, June 2007. (invited)
“From Philosophy to Science: Evolutionary Developmental Perspectives”, Science and Philosophy (Sci-Phi) Symposium, SUNY-Stony Brook (Manhattan), New York, March 2007.
2006
“Physical Reductionism and Molecular Biology: Causation, Dispositions, and Protein Folding”, Department of Philosophy, St. Cloud State University, MN, November 2006. (invited)
“Functional Homology and Homology of Function”, Philosophy and Developmental Biology Workshop, Vancouver, British Columbia, November 2006.
“Explaining Evolutionary Innovation and Novelty: Criteria of Adequacy and Multidisciplinary Prerequisites", Philosophy of Science Association Meeting 2006, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, November 2006.
“Commentary on Robert Wilson’s Boundaries of the Mind and Genes and the Agents of Life ('Author Meets Critics' Session)”, American Philosophical Association Meeting (Pacific Division), Portland, OR, March 2006. (invited)
“Natural Theology: Recent Developments, Future Potential”, Cornell University, sponsored by Chesterton House and Graduate Christian Fellowship, Ithaca, NY, March 2006. (invited)
“Reductionism, Development, and Time”, Philosophy of Biology Workshop, sponsored by the University of California-Irvine, Laguna Beach, CA, February 2006. (invited)
“Criteria of Explanatory Adequacy in Disciplinary Syntheses: Revisiting ‘Incommensurability’ in the Context of Evolutionary Developmental Biology”, Dept. of Philosophy, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, January 2006. (invited)
“Evolutionary Morphology and Evo-devo: Hierarchy and Novelty”, Bay Area Biosystematists Meeting, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, January 2006. (invited)
2005
“Comparative embryology and Evo-devo history: Lessons from N.J. Berrill’s embryological investigations of marine invertebrate evolution”, Office for History of Science and Technology, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, November 2005. (invited)
“The Structure and Import of Developmental Genetic Explanations of Evolutionary Novelty”, International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, July 2005.
“Commentary on ‘Revisiting the Darwinian Revolution’ (Special Issue of the Journal of the History of Biology, 2005)”, International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, July 2005. (invited)
“Evolutionary Developmental Biology and the Problem of Innovation and Novelty”, Dept. of Philosophy, California State University-Chico, Chico, CA, February 2005. (invited)
“Evolutionary Developmental Biology and the Problem of Innovation and Novelty”, Dept. of Philosophy, University of California-Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, February 2005. (invited)
“Explaining Innovation and Novelty: A Study on the Nature of Interdisciplinary Epistemology”, Hampshire College, Amherst, MA, February 2005. (invited)
“N.J. Berrill and the evolutionary developmental biology of ascidians”, Division of Humanities, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, February 2005. (invited)
“Evolutionary Developmental Biology and the Problem of Innovation and Novelty”, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, February 2005. (invited)
“Evolutionary Developmental Biology and the Problem of Innovation and Novelty”, Dept. of Philosophy, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, January 2005. (invited)
2004
“Problem Agendas in Biological Research: The Case of Evolutionary Innovation and Novelty”, Dept. of Philosophy, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO, December 2004. (invited)
“Problem Agendas in Biological Research: The Case of Evolutionary Innovation and Novelty”, Dept. of Philosophy, University of California-San Diego, San Diego, CA, October 2004. (invited)
“Larval Homology, Ectoderm Novelty, and Skeletal Arm Morphogenesis in the Sea Urchin Genus Heliocidaris”, Dept. of Biology, Indiana University, IN, April 2004.
“Problem Agendas in Biological Research: The Case of Evolutionary Innovation and Novelty”, Dept. of History and Philosophy of Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, February 2004. (invited)
“Problem Agendas in Biological Research: The Case of Evolutionary Innovation and Novelty”, Division of History and Philosophy of Science, Notre Dame University, South Bend, IN, January 2004. (invited)
2003
“Organizational Homology, Sea Urchin Larvae, and Ectoderm Novelty”, Philosophy and Developmental Biology Workshop, Cambridge, MA, November 2003.
“N.J. Berrill and the evolutionary developmental biology of ascidians”, History of Science Society Meeting 2003, Cambridge, MA, November 2003.
“Evaluating Larval Homologies in Closely Related Species with Different Developmental Modes” (Scientific Poster Presentation), Developmental Basis of Evolutionary Change, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, October 2003.
“The Problem of Innovation and Novelty”, International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, July 2003.
“Morphological and Paleontological Perspectives for a History of Evo-Devo”, Evolutionary Morphology Group, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, May 2003. (invited)
“Concepts and Conceptual Change: A Hybrid Investigative Framework for Philosophy of Science”, Workshop on Cultural Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, May 2003. (invited)
2002
“Evolvability, Dispositions, and Intrinsicality”, Philosophy of Science Association Meeting 2002, Milwaukee, WI, November 2002.
“Alternate Histories for Evo-Devo: Morphological and Paleontological Perspectives”, Dibner Institute for the History of Science Workshop, “From Embryology to Evo-Devo”, Cambridge, MA, October 2002. (invited)
“Evolvability, Dispositions, and Intrinsicality”, 1st Annual Conference on Recent Work in Biology and Philosophy, Duke University, June 2002
“Comments on Menser (‘Explaining Patterns of Stasis and Change in Kingdom Animalia: Developmental Constraints, Evo-devo, and Devo-evo’)”, Philosophy and Developmental Biology Workshop, University of Texas-Austin, April 2002. (invited)
“Evolutionary Morphology, Innovation, and the Synthesis of Evolutionary and Developmental Biology”, Philosophy of Biology Graduate Student Conference, University of Texas-Austin, April 2002.
“Causal Process Individuation, Contrastive Explanation, and Theoretical Generality. Comments on Brandon’s “The difference between drift and selection: A reply to Millstein”, Philosophy and History of Biology Workshop, University of Pittsburgh, March 2002.
2001
“Evolutionary Morphology, Innovation, and the Synthesis of Evolutionary and Developmental Biology”, Pittsburgh/London Colloquium on Philosophy of Biology and Neuroscience, University of London, London, UK, September, 2001.
2000
“Darwin and Cirripedia Prior to 1846”, Joint Atlantic Seminar on the History of Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, April, 2000.
OTHER SPEAKING AND CONFERENCE PARTICIPATION (* = invited)
Workshop organizer for “Organization, Organisms, and Operationalization: Challenges and Opportunities”, Albuquerque, NM, December 2023.
Session chair for “Philosophy of Biology: Species, Inheritance and Populations”, European Philosophy of Science Association Meeting, Belgrade, Serbia, September 2023.*
Co-organizer for “International Philosophy of Biology Circle: Summer School on Biology and Society”, August 2023. [online]
Session chair for “C.3 Philosophy of the Biological Sciences”, 17th International Congress of Logic, Methodology, and Philosophy of Science, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 2023.*
Organizer for “New Perspectives on Biological Function: Interdisciplinary Issues and Implications” (double session), International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, Toronto, Canada, July 2023.
Session Participant for “ISH-y journals: Meet the Editors”, International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, Toronto, Canada, July 2023.*
Interview for “The HPS Podcast: Conversations from History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science” (episode recording), hosted by Samara Greenwood, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia, May 2023.*
Workshop co-organizer (with Günter Wagner [Yale EEB]) for “Psychological Perspectives on the Creative Roles of Stress”, Minnesota History Center, St. Paul, MN, May 2023.
Workshop organizer for “Mapping the Frontiers of Scientific Reproducibility: Intervention Strategies”, The Many Faces of Reproducibility, Stillwater, MN, April 2023.
Interview for “Closer to Truth: Cosmos, Consciousness, Meaning” (episodes forthcoming), hosted by Robert Lawrence Kuhn, New York NY, March 2023.*
Interview for “The Psychosphere” (episode recording), hosted by Melanie Challenger, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia, March 2023.*
Symposium Co-Organizer (with Max Dresow [UMN MCPS]) for “New Perspectives on Biological Teleology: Conceptual Distinctions, Scientific Implications”, Philosophy of Science Association Biennial Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA, November 2022.
Workshop organizer for “Mapping the Frontiers of Scientific Reproducibility: Foundational Questions”, The Many Faces of Reproducibility, Stillwater, MN, November 2022.
Host for University Faculty Roundtable Dinner and Discussion, “Are We Really Free?” with William Newsome (Stanford) and David Redish (UMN), Organized by Anselm House, Minneapolis, MN, October 2022.
Workshop co-organizer (with Jayne Fulkerson [UMN Nursing] and David Ingbar [UMN Medicine) for “Rigor & Reproducibility Retreat”, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, October 2022.*
Public event organizer for “Conversations about Science and Society: The US Census, Data Reliability, and Reproducible Research”, The Many Faces of Reproducibility, Hennepin County Public Library, Minneapolis, MN, October 2022.
Invited panelist and participant for Building Foundations in Science-Engaged Theology: Insights from Philosophy of Science, Summer Session 2022 (Experience to Evidence: Theory Construction and Confirmation), San Diego, CA, May 2022.*
Workshop co-organizer (with Günter Wagner [Yale EEB]) for “Biological Perspectives on the Creative Roles of Stress”, Yale West Campus, Yale University, New Haven, CT, May 2022.
Symposium organizer for “Data, Rigor, and Reproducibility in Light of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion”, The Many Faces of Reproducibility, Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science, Minneapolis, MN, December 2021. [hybrid]
Co-Organizer (with Mark Borrello [UMN EEB]) for “Building intellectual community across disciplines”, International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, NY, July 2021. [online]
Co-Organizer (with Galin Jones [UMN Statistics]) for “Questions About Reproducibility in an Age of Big Data”, Institute for Research in Statistics and its Applications, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, May 2021. [online]
Organizer and host for “Conversations about Science and Society: Interrogating the Rules of Science” (public symposium), Department of Philosophy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, March/April/May 2021. [online]
Interview for the podcast “Science Friction” (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), hosted by Natasha Mitchell.
Interview Host for “Born to Wonder: Exploring the Intersection of Faith & Science” with Dr. Alister McGrath (Oxford University), Anselm House, Minneapolis, MN, November 2020.* [online]
Symposium organizer for “Frontiers of Reproducibility”, The Many Faces of Reproducibility, Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science, Minneapolis, MN, October 2020. [online]
Public event organizer for “Conversations about Science and Society: COVID-19 Clinical Trials and Reproducibility”, The Many Faces of Reproducibility, Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science, Minneapolis, MN, October 2020. [online]
Board of Advisors member, Templeton Foundation Ideas Challenge, Science of Purpose, 2020.*
Invited participant on the topic of “Convergence and Emergence: Philosophical Perspective” for NSF Engineering Research Center Planning Meeting, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, December 2019. *
Guided Discussion Leader for “Evolvability and Extrinsicality”, Centre for Advanced Study, Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, Oslo, Norway, November 2019. *
Public event organizer for “Conversations on Science and Society: Personality, Sex, and Reproducibility”, The Many Faces of Reproducibility, Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science, Minneapolis, MN, October 2019. *
Public event invited participant for “Facts & Fakes: Philosophers on the Search for Truth”, Department of Philosophy, Minneapolis, MN, October 2019. *
Public event invited participant for “Life as We Don’t Know it”, Petri Dish (‘Curiosity-driven conversations about how biology affects our lives and shapes our future’), College of Biological Sciences, Minneapolis, MN, October 2019. *
Participant for “Genetics and Human Agency” Annual Meeting, Wintergreen Resort, Univ. of Virginia, May 2019.
Workshop Co-organizer for “Perspectives on the Human Genome Project and Genomics”, National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD, November 2018.
Co-authored Poster Presentation with Yoshinari Yoshida (“Mechanisms and Principles: Two Kinds of Scientific Generalization”), Philosophy of Science Association Meeting, Seattle, WA, November 2018.
Participant for “History of Functional Genomics Programs at NHGRI”, National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD, August 2018. *
Summer Institute Co-organizer for “From Biological Practice to Scientific Metaphysics”, Taipei, Taiwan, July 2018.
Participant for “Randomness and Providence”, Ohrid, Macedonia, June 2018. *
Workshop Co-organizer for “The conceptual legacy of On Growth and Form: interdisciplinary perspectives”, University of St. Andrews, Scotland, UK, June 2018.
Workshop Co-organizer for “Investigating Life: A Celebration of the Career of James G. Lennox”, Pittsburgh, PA, April 2018.
Poster Presentation (“What is a conserved (genetic) mechanism?”), Pan American Society for Evolutionary Developmental Biology, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, August 2017.
Commentator on The Eugenic Mind Project by Robert Wilson, International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, University of São Paolo, Brazil, July 2017. *
Session Organizer for “From Biological Practice to Scientific Metaphysics: Prospects and Challenges”, International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, University of São Paolo, Brazil, July 2017.
Session Organizer for “Generic and Genetic Perspectives on Evolvability”, International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, University of São Paolo, Brazil, July 2017.
Summer Institute Co-organizer for “Practices of Individuation and Classification in Science”, Banff, Canada, June 2017.
Mini-presentation on “What is a Conserved Mechanism?”, Developmental Biology Center, Annual Retreat, University of Minnesota, May 2017. *
Summer Institute Co-organizer for “Reconceiving the Success of Science”, Basel, Switzerland, August 2016.
Faculty Instructor/Co-organizer for “Biological Individuality”, Winter School, History and Philosophy of Science Unit, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, July 2016. *
Conference Co-organizer for HOPOS 2016 (11th biennial meeting of the International Society for the History and Philosophy of Science), Minneapolis, MN, June 2016.
Workshop Co-organizer for “Integrating Generic and Genetic Approaches to Biological Phenomena—Evolutionary Novelty”, Stillwater, MN, April 2016.
Session Chair for “Philosophy of the Life Sciences II”, European Philosophy of Science Association Meeting, Düsseldorf, Germany, September 2015.
Session Chair for “Data Practices in Biology and Biomedicine”, Society for Philosophy of Science in Practice, University of Aarhus, Denmark, June 2015. *
Panel Discussant for “Development of the Social Brain”, 39th Minnesota Symposium on Child Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, October 2015. *
Session Co-organizer for “Physical Science Approaches to Organismal Development”, International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, University of Quebec-Montreal, Canada, July 2015.
Workshop Co-organizer for “Integrating Generic and Genetic Approaches to Biological Phenomena—Development”, Stillwater, MN, April 2015.
Commentator on “Ignorance, Experience, and the Rehabilitation of Wonder at the Natural World” by Lisa Sideris, Nature, Ways of Knowing, and Moral Commitment: A Conversation on Religion, Science and the Anthropocene, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, August 2014. *
Workshop Participant for the "Future of Evolutionary Developmental Biology", National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, Durham, NC, December 2013. *
Discussant for "Philosophy of Biology and Biology Education", International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, University of Montpellier, France, July 2013. *
Session Co-organizer for "Generic and Genetic Explanations of Evolvability and Evolutionary Novelty", International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, University of Montpellier, France, July 2013.
Co-organizer for "Philosophy & Theory in Biology: Young Investigators Symposium", CUNY-Lehman, NY, April 2013.
Workshop participant for "What is an Individual?", University of Wisconsin-Madison, December 2012. *
Session Chair for "Thinking about the Clock in the Molecular Age", Fascinating Rhythms : A Conference on the History and Philosophy of Biological Rhythms Research, University of Minnesota, May 2012. *
Workshop Co-organizer for “Integration in Contemporary Biology: Philosophical Perspectives on the Dynamics of Interdisciplinarity”, Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science, Minneapolis, MN, September 2011.
Session Co-organizer for “Evo-devo and Explanatory Integration: Biological Practices and Physical Science”, International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, July 2011.
Discussant for “Debating Entwickelungsgeschichte: Disputed Interpretations, Disputed Legacies”, International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, July 2011.
“Origins of Life”, The Seven Pines Symposium XV, Stillwater, MN, May 2011.
Workshop Participant in “Philosophical Perspectives on Causal Reasoning in Biology”, Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Minnesota, MN, May 2011.
Session Chair for “Philosophy of Biology”, American Philosophical Association – Central Division Meeting, Minneapolis, MN, March 2011.
Discussant for “Debating Darwin: Philosophical Issues in Evolution and Natural Selection”, University of California – Santa Barbara, CA, February 2011.
Workshop Organizer for “Conceptual Change in Biological Science: Evolutionary Developmental Biology, 1981-2011”, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Dahlem, Berlin, July 2010.
Session Chair for “Genomic Programs as Mechanism Schemas: A Non-Reductionist Interpretation”, Philosophy of Biology at Madison (POBAM), University of Wisconsin-Madison, May 2010.
Symposium Co-organizer for “Genetics and Religion: Prospects for Dialogue”, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, September 2009.
Session Chair for “Information and Function”, International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, July 2009.
Session Organizer for “Probing the Philosophical Consequences of Experimental Practices in Developmental Biology”, Society for the Philosophy of Science in Practice, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, June 2009.
“Emergence: From Physics to Biology”, The Seven Pines Symposium XI, Stillwater, MN, May 2007. *
Session Chair for “Scientific Practice, Conceptual Change, and the Nature of Concepts”, Concepts and Objectivity: Knowledge, Science, and Values, University of Pittsburgh, September 2006.
Panel Discussion Chair for “Methods and Approaches to Biology”, Southwest Colloquium on the History and Philosophy of Life Sciences, UC-Davis, April 2006.
“Shifting Pasts: Four Dialogues on Change”, Second German-American Frontiers of Humanities Symposium, Hamburg, Germany, October 2005. *
“Concept of the Gene in Contemporary Biology” Workshop, University of Pittsburgh, January 2003.
“From Embryology to Evo-Devo”, Dibner Institute Seminar on the History of Biology, Woods Hole, MA, May/June 2001.