Paul Ziche is the new director of the Descartes Centre

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Prof. Paul Ziche
Prof. Paul Ziche

From 1 April, Paul Ziche has taken over the directorship of the Descartes Centre for the History and Philosophy of the Sciences and the Humanities from Bert Theunissen.

History of science

Bert Theunissen was director of the Descartes Centre, a centre in which all faculties of Utrecht University cooperate, from 2014 until after his retirement. Theunissen’s successor Ziche has been a professor of the History of Modern Philosophy at the Faculty of Humanities since 2008 and has been involved in the Descartes Centre since then.

Already during his PhD, Ziche focused on the interface between philosophy and the history of science. His research mainly addresses themes from around 1800 and 1900, dealing with the relationships between philosophy and other sciences and the influence philosophy has had on the emergence of our modern image of science.

Keimpe Algra quartermaster

Moreover, at the Descartes Centre, Keimpe Algra will assume the role of quartermaster. On behalf of the Executive Board of Utrecht University, he will spend the next few months investigating whether and how to broaden and intensify activities in the areas of scientific integrity, science and society, and public engagement.