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Debating
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and The Nanotechnology Debate
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Christopher Preston is an Assistant Professor
of Philosophy at The University of Montana. He teaches
classes in ethics and environmental ethics. He worked
with a marine science professor at his previous
university on a science/humanities collaboration
that targeted marine science undergraduates with
the intention of introducing a humanistic context
to their research on the South Carolina coast. At
that same university he participated in a lecture
series that was part of an initiative to investigate
the societal and ethical dimensions of nanotechnology.
He has also developed and taught a class on Ecological
Citizenship that endeavored to bring to students
outside of philosophy a sense of their belonging
and obligation in a particular region of the country.
Each of these experiences gives him good preparation
in how to teach ethical concepts to non-philosophers.
His comfort level at the intersection of science
and ethics recently led to him being solicited to
edit the ethics chapter in a popular environmental
science textbook widely used both in the United
States and overseas. Dr. Preston has worked many
summers outside of his academic environment in the
fishing, park, and conservation industries in Alaska,
giving him a fairly unique hands-on perspective
relative to other philosophers.
Catherine
Murphy is the Guy F. Lipscomb Professor
of Chemistry at the University of South Carolina.
Her research areas include inorganic nanomaterials
for optical sensing and imaging applications, and
the biophysical properties of DNA. She is an active
participant in USC's Societal Implications of Nanotechnology
group, and has given many presentations on nanotechnology
to general audiences. She was the Principal Investigator
for USC's Research Experience for Undergraduates
in Nanoscience program, 1999-2005, which included
training on scientific ethics. She also serves the
wider scientific community as one of the senior
editors for the Journal of Physical Chemistry; as
a contributing author on the general chemistry textbook
"Chemistry: The Central Science," 10th
edition (Brown, LeMay, Bursten, co-authors); and
as a member of the Nanotechnology Technical Advisory
Group to the (U.S.) President's Council of Advisors
on Science and Technology, 2003-2005. She is currently
a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for the
Molecular Foundry, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory,
2005-. About
us | Courses
| Programs | Environmental
Ethics Institute | Resources
| Consulting
The Center for Ethics | 1000 East Beckwith | The University of Montana
| Missoula, MT 59812-2808 | (406) 243-5744 | (406) 243-6633, fax | ethics@mso.umt.edu
|| :: Revised: April, 2007 :: ||
Thanks to Liftport - The Space Elevator Company for providing the above image, website by Justin Whitaker