Dr. Kathryn S. Plaisance is aÌýProfessor of Knowledge Integration at the University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ,Ìýcross-appointed to the Departments of Philosophy &ÌýPsychology. Her research interests include engaged philosophy of science, interactional expertise, and interdisciplinary collaboration. She holdsÌýa Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Insight Grant on "Engaging Science with Philosophy: Best Practices for Fostering Effective Collaboration" (2020-26). Dr. Plaisance is the recipient of several teaching awards, including theÌý, theÌý,Ìýand the University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ'sÌýDistinguished Teacher AwardÌýin 2016.
Dr. Plaisance earned her B.Sc. in molecular biology and philosophy from the University of Wisconsin-Madson (2000). After taking a year off to travel, she completed a Ph.D. in philosophy at the University of MinnesotaÌý(2006), where she studied with Ken Waters (her supervisor), Helen Longino, Ron Giere, Evelyn Fox Keller, and several psychologists. Dr. Plaisance wrote her dissertation on key concepts in human behavioral genetics and on the ways that behavioral genetic research has been misinterpreted as a result of conceptual confusion. After her PhD, she held aÌýPostdoctoral Fellowship inÌýtheÌýÌýat Leibniz University in Hannover, Germany (2007-09), advised by Paul Hoyningen-Huene. While in Hannover, sheÌýworked with Carla Fehr to organize a conference on "Making Philosophy of Science More Socially Relevant," which laid the groundwork for a by the same name. She has continued to build a network of philosophers dedicated to social and scientific engagement and co-foundedÌýthe International Network for Socially Relevant Philosophy of/in Science and Engineering ().Ìý
Dr. Plaisance came to À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ in 2009 to join Knowledge Integration.ÌýShe continues toÌýpursueÌýher research on engaged philosophy of science, using mixed methods to collect and analyze empirical data on the state of the discipline. She also studies the nature of interdisciplinary collaboration and expertise. Her work has been published in several prominent philosophy journals, includingÌýPhilosophy of Science,ÌýSynthese,ÌýStudies in History and Philosophy of Science, andÌýPhilosophical Psychology; she has also co-authored papers with sociologists and psychologists in ScientometricsÌý²¹²Ô»åÌýBehavior Genetics.
Dr. Plaisance has played a pivotal role in helping to establish the Knowledge Integration (KI) program at UW, an interdisciplinary undergraduate degree that teaches students how to collaborate across disciplinary boundaries and in diverse teams. In 2016, she partnered with several KI students to design a university-wide course, INTEG 210:ÌýMaking Collaboration Work,Ìýwhich offers students the opportunity to work in interdisciplinary teams to address aÌýreal-world design challenge. She has studiedÌýthe effectiveness of INTEG 210 with respect to improving students' collaborative skills and their attitudes towards teamwork with funding from a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) grant; the results of this study were in theÌýCanadian Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.ÌýDr. Plaisance has also partnered with Scott Anderson from UW's Centre for Teaching Excellence to develop aÌýCommunity of Practice on Collaboration and Teamwork at UW, through which she offers workshops and resources for instructors to improve students' collaborative experiences. She also consults with researchers, university administrators, and companies on developing capacities for effective teamwork.
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