I am an Assistant Professor in the Philosophy Department at Tufts University and an affiliate member of the Black Hole Initiative (BHI) at Harvard University. I am also an active member of the Next Generation Event Horizon Telescope (ngEHT) Collaboration's History Philosophy and Culture (HP&C) Working Group, where I co-lead the Algorithms, Inference, and Visualization focus group (previously, I led the Foundations focus group, which holds a weekly seminar at the BHI).
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.
I was previously a Postdoctoral Fellow at the BHI, and before that I was a Heinrich Hertz Fellow with the Lichtenberg Group 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] tufts [dot] edu
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.
I was previously a Postdoctoral Fellow at the BHI, and before that I was a Heinrich Hertz Fellow with the Lichtenberg Group 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] tufts [dot] edu