UCI Professor Elected to Science Academy
A UC Irvine philosophy professor known for his work in the philosophy of science and decision theory has been elected to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences.
Brian Skyrms, 61, of Laguna Beach, has taught at UCI since 1980 and is a professor in the school of social sciences.
Skyrms was one of just 75 people elected this year to the 136-year-old academy. He is already a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, elected in 1994.
It is uncommon for someone who is not an engineer or scientist to be elected to the National Academy of Sciences. There are only two other philosophers in the academy, Patrick Suppes of Stanford University and W.V. Quine of Harvard University.
“I wasn’t aware that I had been nominated, so it was a complete surprise,” Skyrms said in a prepared statement. “My reaction was stunned disbelief, since the academy doesn’t normally elect philosophers.”
He is UCI’s 19th faculty member so elected.
Election to the academy, which was created by Congress in 1863, is considered one of the most prestigious honors in science. Members are chosen on the basis of “distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.”
Skyrms is the author of numerous articles and several books on philosophy, including “Evolution of the Social Contract” in 1996. He was a Guggenheim fellow in 1988 and a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in 1993-94.
