Samuel Fletcher named McKnight Land-Grant Professor

Samuel C. Fletcher has been named a 2020-22 McKnight Land-Grant Professor for his project The Structure of Scientific Possibility. A good scientific theory tells a story not just about the way the world is but about the ways the world could be. Scientists have produced many such theories, with variegated stories. How do they all fit together? How does the structure of their stories bear upon how we have gained, and do gain, evidence for them? Fletcher develops new concepts and mathematical methods for answering these questions, especially for modern physics.

The goal of the McKnight Land-Grant Professorship Program is to advance the careers of new assistant professors at a crucial point in their professional lives. The designation of “McKnight Land-Grant Professor” is held by recipients for a two-year period.