I am a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Black Hole Initiative (BHI) at Harvard University. I am also a collaborator on the DFG project "The role of inference to the best explanation in the discovery of gravitational waves". From September 2023 I will be an Assistant Professor in the Philosophy Department at Tufts University.

My current research concerns the methodology and epistemology of large astrophysical experiments, especially those—including LIGO-Virgo and the EHT—that involve "observing" black holes. Much of my work concerns how models and simulations are embedded in experimental methods and what epistemic implications this has for making inferences about astrophysical target systems.

At the BHI, I organize the Foundations Seminar, bringing together philosophers and scientists to discuss foundational issues in physics and astronomy.

I am an active member of the Next Generation Event Horizon Telescope (ngEHT) Collaboration's History Philosophy and Culture (HPC) Working Group and a co-lead of it's Foundations focus group. I am also a member of the ngEHT's Code of Conduct, Climate, and Conflict Resolution Task Force (3C Task Force).

I was previously a Heinrich Hertz Fellow with the Lichtenberg Group for History and Philosophy of Physics at the University of Bonn.

I completed my PhD in the History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Notre Dame, specializing in the philosophy of physics and astrophysics. Before Notre Dame, I completed an MPhil in Philosophy at the University of Cambridge and a BSc and BA(Hons) at the University of Canterbury.

Contact me: jamee[dot]elder[at]gmail[dot]com

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