SOCRATES launches the new semester with an expanded cohort of fellows and a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary exchange. At a lively Welcome Session on April 9th, 2026, incoming and continuing fellows met with the SOCRATES team, compared research agendas, and discovered several shared topics of interest, setting the stage for new collaborations across philosophy, sociology, linguistics, public policy, and environmental governance.
Introducing the new fellows:
- Monika Berg, Associate Professor of Sociology at Örebro University and head of its Environmental Sociology Group, holds a Ph.D. in political science. Her research centers on the science–policy interface, the relationship between values and facts, and the conditions shaping institutional change and trust. At SOCRATES, she will advance theory for analysing epistemic disputes in environmental governance, examining how actors use knowledge contestation and delegitimation to steer value priorities.
- Justin B. Biddle, Associate Professor in the School of Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Director of the Georgia Tech Ethics, Technology, and Human Interaction Center, studies the role of values in science and technology. His SOCRATES project focuses on AI governance, especially the ethical and epistemological implications of emerging frameworks for responsible and trustworthy AI.
- Karin Gustafsson, Associate Professor of Sociology at Örebro University and co-director of the Center for Environmental and Sustainability Social Science, investigates knowledge production and relationships among knowledge producers, with emphasis on climate change and biodiversity. During her fellowship, she will study the role of social science expertise in driving sustainable societal transformations.
- Joyce C. Havstad, a philosopher of science and values, develops a practice-grounded account of scientific norms. Her current work critiques character-centered norms and, drawing on evolutionary perspectives, explores alternative normative frameworks to better explain and improve scientific practice. She will continue this agenda at SOCRATES.
- Annette Leßmöllmann, linguist and cognitive scientist, holds the chair of science communication and linguistics at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and heads the RHET AI center (rhet.ai). Her research spans public dialogue and trust in AI, polarised discourse and “epistemic wars,” and common ground in communication. As a SOCRATES guest, she will finalise a book systematising science communication, among other publications.
An overview of all current fellows is available here.
With this extension of the group, SOCRATES strengthens its networked research environment – linking AI ethics, philosophy of science, environmental social science, and science communication – and invites the community to engage through seminars, reading groups, and collaborative projects in the months ahead.
