About Me

I am a visiting assistant professor at Kansas State University. Previously, I was a postdoctoral researcher at Tel Aviv University in association with David Mark Kovacs' metaphysical explanation project. In August 2019 I received a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame, and before that I completed a B.A. in Philosophy at the University of Virginia. 

I work primarily in metaphysics, philosophy of science, and logic. Currently my research focuses on defending nominalism. I hold the extreme position that there are no abstract objects. I am particularly interested in showing that science does not need them. This includes showing that science can do without mathematical objects, but also includes showing that science does not require properties and other kinds of abstracta. One can be an extreme nominalist and still take science seriously. 

I have many additional research interests as well. A few of these include the connections between ethics, logic, and metaphysics; the status of shape in contemporary physics; and deflationary perspectives on metaphysical possibility. 

When it comes to teaching, while I have a wide range of teaching interests, I am especially interested in teaching courses on data ethics and Buddhist philosophy. I organized a panel (recording here) on data ethics for Kansas State's "AI and the Future" Symposium and regard navigating the ethical quandaries posed by data as one of the critical tasks of our time. Meanwhile, Theravāda Buddhist philosophy has long been a source of inspiration for me, which is why I want to share the insights of Buddhist philosophers.

Other than philosophy, my main interests are data analysis and applied ontology. I completed the Google Data Analytics Certificate program to develop a more thorough picture of data analysis and build skills with SQL, Tableau, and R. I've recently added Python, RDF, RDFS, and OWL to my technical repertoire. My other hobbies include chess, horror movies, and a bit of boxing.