The 2023-2024 recipient of the Ranck Prize for Research Excellence is Dr. Michael Silberstein, Elizabethtown College Professor of Philosophy. The Professional Development Committee chose Silberstein from nominations submitted by faculty peers.
In addition to receiving a monetary award and a supplement to his professional development fund to support ongoing scholarly activity, he will deliver remarks during Scholarship and Creative Arts Day (SCAD) on April 23, 2024. More details to follow.
“I’m particularly honored to win the Ranck Prize for Research Excellence, as Dr. John Ranck was my colleague for many years and shares my interests in the foundations of quantum mechanics and philosophy of science,” Silberstein said. “For some of my research in these areas, I have been very fortunate to collaborate with my Etown colleagues Dr. Mark Stuckey and Dr. Timothy McDevitt. We have also been fortunate enough to involve many of our students in this work over the years. My research informs my teaching, as I always strive to put my new knowledge to work in the classroom. I also strive to be a good public intellectual by working with the press, consulting for grantors such as the John Templeton Foundation and the National Science Foundation, and engaging with popular culture on trendy topics.
“Elizabethtown College has always been supportive of my very eclectic research agenda, which includes publications on subjects ranging from cognitive science to the science of consciousness, to the foundations of physics. I am very grateful to be recognized with this award.”
Congratulatory Statement from the 2023-2024 Ranck Prize Selection Committee:
Dr. Silberstein is commended for his outstanding contribution to his field and collaborative research. Most notably, he is recognized for his breadth of research interests and scholarly output. Recent contributions include book publications through Oxford University Press such as, “Beyond the Dynamical Universe (2018)” and a forthcoming book, “Einstein’s Entanglement: Bell Inequalities, Relativity, and the Qubit.” Likewise, Dr. Silberstein’s desire to merge philosophy and science is evident through his contribution to various scholarly disciplines ranging from publications in the journal Philosophy of Science to the Foundations of Physics. Additionally, the committee was impressed by his commitment to collaborative research with Etown faculty in the sciences over the last 20+ years.
About the Ranck Prize
Robert O. Kerr ’64 and Mary Ann Kerr ’64 established the Ranck Prize for Research Excellence as a permanent endowment to award a full-time faculty member of Elizabethtown College and to commend and celebrate excellence in research and commitment to his or her field of study. The prize honors John P. Ranck ’58, faculty member emeritus and former chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, for “his inspirational service to countless students at Elizabethtown College.”