Month: November 2024

This blogpost was authored by Professor Mark Paterson. Prof. Paterson is based at the University of Pittsburgh, USA, and specialises in history and science of bodily sensation, and technologies of the senses. He visited the University of Bristol as a Benjamin Meaker Distinguished Visiting Professor in Summer 2024 to collaborate with Dr. Andy Flack in the Department of History.

The visit from June 21 to July 31, 2024, as a Benjamin Meaker Distinguished Visiting Professor, turned out to be a highlight of my recent career. I had studied for my Ph.D. at the University of Bristol just over twenty years ago, and a return to the leafy streets and distinctive Victorian buildings was never part of my plan. There was a big difference this time, however. The area of interdisciplinary research that I was involved in back then, the history and philosophy of the senses, was not taken so seriously. Studying this felt like ploughing a lonely furrow, trying to make intellectual allies from people in institutions around the world along the way. It was a chance meeting at a conference in Montreal in 2023 with a History Ph.D. student from the University of Bristol, Lena Ferriday, that revealed quite how much research is now happening across a number of different departments in the group she helps to run (among others) with Dr. Andy Flack, Senior Lecturer in History and my excellent academic host. The ‘Senses and Sensations’ Research Group includes people from across the humanities, social sciences, and the medical school. My six-week visit, co-organized by Lena and Andy, was a chance to meet other group members and start collaborations.  

In our plans for the visit, Andy, Lena and I wanted especially to help early-career researchers and Ph.D. students, and set up a series of scheduled Work-in-Progress sessions. We also carried out two workshops with the research group. The first was a collaborative effort to plan and coordinate a journal article publication. The second was a half-day grant-writing workshop, focused on identifying potential funding to expand and strengthen our international network, with members from other institutions including Professor David Howes from Concordia University Montreal, a leading figure in sensory research, and Dr. Will Tullett, a sensory history scholar, from the University of York. We settled on a particular funding opportunity, the AHRC Curiosity Award, and Andy and I have subsequently had a number of meetings to develop the proposal, and we will submit the application this academic year. 

Our public event was titled “Sensing the World – An Animal’s Perspective.” It featured Dr. Nathan Morehouse from the University of Cincinnati, one of our proposed research grant collaborators, who presented on ‘The Evolution of Looking and Seeing: New Insights from Colorful Jumping Spiders’. My talk was designed to provide some wider, more-than–human sensory context for Nate’s talk, inspired by the ethologist Jacob von Uexküll, ‘A Wander Through the Perceptual Worlds of Animals and Humans: More-than-Human Sensing’. This event drew over fifty participants joining from all over the world.

While the Distinguished Visiting Professor visit was full of planned activities with members of the research group, there were other enriching opportunities as well. For example, after the initial welcome lecture and reception, I was invited to speak at the Bristol Interaction Group (BIG) in the Queen’s Building, and several of their members are researching the role of touch in human-computer interfaces. Other highlights included meeting with Professor of Philosophy James Ladyman to discuss AI, robots, and complex systems, as well as Professor of Robotics Nathan Lepora, whose work on touch and dexterity led to a guided tour of the Bristol Robotics Lab with Dr. Ben Ward-Cherrier, a member of Lepora’s Dextrous Robotics team (see picture). 

The work started during the visit this summer is continuing through grant applications and through publication, and I am sincerely grateful for the opportunity to spend time with such excellent and inspiring people in Bristol. 

This blogpost was authored by Dr. Santiago Alonso Palmas Pérez.  Dr. Palmas Pérez is based at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Lerma, Mexico, and specialises in mathematical education for diverse learners. He visited the University of Bristol as a Next Generation Visiting Researcher in Spring 2024 to collaborate with Professor Alf Coles in the School of Education.

During a few transformative weeks in April and May 2024, I had the incredible opportunity to spend my sabbatical at the University of Bristol. The project that brought me there was titled “Development and Evaluation of a Technological Tool for Early Algebra Teaching,” and I had the privilege of working under the mentorship of Professor Alf Coles at the School of Education. 

Setting the Stage: Project Goals and Early Steps

The primary goal of my sabbatical was to create an interactive digital tool based on Cuisenaire rods, specifically designed to teach algebraic concepts before arithmetic. Drawing inspiration from the educational theories of Caleb Gattegno and Vasily Davydov, I aimed to address some of the key challenges in early algebra education. My plan involved developing a digital application, conducting experimental studies in real educational settings, and eventually publishing the results. 

Collaboration and Unexpected Innovations 

Working with Alf Coles was not only productive but also deeply enjoyable. We encountered some initial delays with the app development, but this turned out to be a blessing in disguise. These delays allowed us to dive deeper into the design process, ultimately leading to the creation of a tool that is far more impactful than we initially envisioned. This pedagogically meaningful tool is now on the brink of being tested with users. 

One of the exciting innovations we’re currently writing about is how different educational resources can invoke various metaphors for numbers—such as understanding numbers as lengths or objects. This insight has led us to emphasize the importance of maintaining coherence in these metaphors when using educational tools.

A Time of Growth and Friendship 

Over the course of my sabbatical, we made significant strides: 

1. App Development and Testing: We designed a specialized digital tool to utilize Cuisenaire rods, allowing for more dynamic manipulation and exploration of algebraic concepts.
2. Publications and Presentations: We are currently drafting two articles, including “Metaphors of Numbers: Where Do We Get Coherence?” which will explore the philosophical and pedagogical implications of our work.
3. Building Connections: My time in Bristol wasn’t just about work. Alf was an exceptional host, and we’ve developed a strong friendship over the course of this experience. We even managed to squeeze in some baseball games, which was a fantastic way to unwind and bond outside of our academic pursuits.

Impact and Looking Ahead 

The work we’ve done has already made a noticeable impact on advancing early algebra education through innovative digital tools. As we move forward, I plan to continue refining the application, publishing our findings, and exploring larger-scale studies to evaluate its effectiveness in various educational contexts. 

This sabbatical has been an enriching experience in every sense—professionally, academically, and personally. I’m eager to bring the knowledge and experiences I’ve gained back to UAM Lerma, where I can further develop and share these insights with my colleagues and students.

Wrapping Up 

 My sabbatical at the University of Bristol has been a truly rewarding experience, filled with collaboration, innovation, and new friendships. I’m looking forward to the next steps in this journey and to applying everything I’ve learned to make a meaningful difference in the field of education. 

This blogpost was authored by Professor Nick Huggett.  Prof. Huggett is based at the University of Illinois at Chicago, USA, and specialises in the philosophy of science and the philosophy of physics. He returned to the University of Bristol as a Benjamin Meaker Follow-on Fund Visiting Researcher in Spring 2024 to continue working with Professor James Ladyman in the Department of Philosophy.

I was fortunate enough to return to Principal’s House for May 2024, as a follow-up visit to a Benjamin Meaker Distinguished Professor Fellowship in Fall 2022. During my first visit I worked with James Ladyman of the Philosophy Department, and his (then) student Nadia Blackshaw on the interpretation of quantum theory (specifically on the spread of ‘branches’ formed in decoherence). I also completed a paper with Karim Thébault (Philosophy) on the emergence of classical time in quantum cosmology. In the treatments we investigated, a formal analogy is drawn between the physics of the universe and that of molecules; it turns out that the equations are relevantly similar, allowing the use of the ‘Born-Oppenheimer approximation’, developed to describe the latter, to solve either. (If you saw the recent eponymous movie, then you will have seen several of the characters praise Oppenheimer for this work with Born.) 

During the recent visit Ladyman, Thébault and I wrote a paper explicating the use of Born-Oppenheimer in its home setting, to calculate the physical properties of molecules: spectra, electron configurations, scattering, and so on. We found that the existing philosophical literature is unwarrantedly skeptical about the power of quantum theory to explain these things. Hopefully this will set straight some misconceptions in the philosophy of chemistry, and open the way for future work by the field. 

Principal’s House accommodation is not just a fantastic base for working, it also gave me the opportunity to meet and learn about the work of others. I had many interesting conversations in the communal kitchen, but especially had the opportunity to talk at greater length with the physicist and Benjamin Meaker Distinguished Professor Lev Vaidman. I also enjoyed Bristol again: had some great bike rides, saw some good music, went for walks on the Downs, and of course enjoyed a few pints in the local pubs! 

 Thank you again!