ABOUT
I am a philosopher researching how values influence public engagement and trust in science.
I am currently a Postdoctoral Researcher with the Social Credibility and Trustworthiness of Expert Knowledge and Science-Based Information (SOCRATES) Centre for Advanced Studies at the Institute for Philosophy at Leibniz University Hannover.
My research addresses descriptive and normative questions about how different types of values manifest in science communication. To do this, I collaborate with epistemologists, philosophers of science, science communication scholars and practitioners.
One thread throughout my research has been to argue that the value-free ideal (VFI) for science, which dominated science and science communication from the Cold War until the end of the 20th century, minimizes the importance of non-epistemic values in science and the presence of these values in science education and science communication models. For more on this see my dissertation, and this piece on the implications of the VFI on science communication and public trust in science.
My interest in science communication is heavily inspired by my experience as a provenance researcher at the Canadian Museum of Science and Technology (Ottawa), a facilitator at the Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto) and in exhibit design at Science North (Sudbury). Additionally, my time spent with university artifact collections at the University of Waterloo’s Computer Museum (Waterloo), the University of Toronto’s Scientific Instruments Collection (Toronto) and Leibniz University Hannover’s teaching collection have been a wonderful source of insight into communication through material culture.
Credit: Samatha Franson (Leibniz University Hannover).
Prior to my position at the Leibniz University of Hannover, I was a Postdoctoral Fellow (wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin) at the Cologne Center for Contemporary Epistemology and the Kantian Tradition (CONCEPT) working on the project "Moral obligation, epistemology and public health: the case of vaccine hesitancy".
I have also been a postdoctoral researcher at Institut Jean Nicod, an analytic-oriented interdisciplinary research centre combining philosophy, social science and cognitive science. I invesitgated affective and normative factors that play a role in decisions to trust as part of the EU Horizon 2020 project: Policy, Expertise and Trust in Action (PEriTiA).
SELECT PUBLICATIONS
Branch, T. Y. (2026). Values in Science Communication Models. The Routledge Handbook of Values and Science, 435-443. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003469100-43.
Holman, B. and Branch, T. Y. (2026). Reflecting on Responses to the new Demarcation Problem. The Routledge Handbook of Values and Science, 109-119. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003469100-12.
Tsai, S.-M. J., Branch, T. Y. and Rowe, S. (2024). Public Perceptions of Ocean Science as insight into Discovery Science. Journal of Science Communication, 23(07), N04. https://doi.org/10.22323/2.23070804.
Douglas, H. & T.Y. Branch (2024). The Social Contract for Science and the Value-Free Ideal. Synthese, 203, 40. https://www.doi.org/10.1007/s11229-023-04477-9. [Open Access]
Branch, T.Y., & H. Douglas (2023). Rethinking the Conceptual Space for Science in Society after the VFI. Philosophy of Science, 1-10. https://www.doi.org/10.1017/psa.2023.130.
Branch, T.Y. & G. M. Duché (2022) Affective Labor in Integrative STS Research. Science, Technology, & Human Values. https://doi.org/10.1177/01622439221143804. [Open Access]
Branch, T.Y. (2022) Enhanced Epistemic Trust and The Value-Free Ideal as a Social Indicator of Trust. Social Epistemology 36:5. https://doi.org/10.1080/02691728.2022.2114114. [Open Access]
Branch, T.Y., Gloria Origgi & Tiffany Morisseau (2022) Why Trust Raoult? How Social Indicators Inform the Reputations of Experts. Social Epistemology 36:3, 299-316. https://doi.org/10.1080/02691728.2022.2042421.
CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS AND TALKS
"TBD" (April 20-24)
Annual Philosophy of Science Conference, Inter-University Centre for Postgraduate Studies,
Dubrovnik, Croatia.
(INVITED)
"Openness and Transparency: Attitudes and Accountability" (February 27)
Departmental Colloquium, Department of Philosophy, Carleton University,
Ottawa, Canada.
"Building a European Network" with Francesco Nappo and Gabriel Târziu (February 9)
Evidence, Values, and Communication – First Hannover-Bern Workshop on the Philosophy of Climate Science,
Institute for Philosophy, Leibniz University,
Hannover, Germany.
"Virtues in Science Communication" (February 4)
Science Media and Communication: Teaching and Research in the Arab World Arab,
Forum of Science Media and Communication (AFSMC) - PCST 2026 Symposium,
University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
The Social Dimensions of Knowing - Leibniz University Hannover (Germany)
The acquisition and creation of knowledge is a social endeavour. To develop and refine knowledge, individuals rely on information shared by others and provide information to others. This course integrates the philosophy of science (e.g. artificial intelligence, the right to science), social epistemology (e.g. trust in experts) and science communication (e.g. scientific testimony) by discussing social indicators of trustworthiness (e.g. reputation), types of expertise, how knowing works on an individual and group-levels, and consider broader institutional structures for authenticating and communicating knowledge, with a focus on science.
State of the Art in Social Epistemology - Tampere University (Finland)
This course offers a contemporary examination of critical issues related to the dynamics of information sharing, analyzed through the lens of social epistemology. We will explore questions surrounding who shares information, how it is disseminated, and what types of information are prioritized. Key topics will include the challenges of communicating specific information about pressing issues such as climate change, the implications of artificial intelligence, and the role of communicators as knowledge brokers. We will also connect these contemporary concerns to established themes in social epistemology, such as trust in experts and the nature of uncertainty.
SOCRATES Summer School 2025: Ignorance, Uncertainty & Public Trust in Science (Germany)
with Anke Bueter (Aarhus University), Stephen John (Cambridge University), Quill Kukla (Georgetown University), Mathias Frisch (Leibniz University Hannover), Torsten Wilholt (Leibniz University Hannover).
Three-day training programme designed for early-career researchers and PhD students working on topics related to ignorance, uncertainty, and public trust in science. This programme offers a unique opportunity to engage with peers and senior researchers in the field, fostering in-depth discussions on how scientists address or contribute to uncertainty and ignorance, the ways these uncertainties and blind spots are communicated to the public, and their impact on public trust in science.
PHILOSOPHER-IN-RESIDENCE
Near-living architecture incorporates biological features into environments that are responsive to occupants in that space. The structures pictured, are mini ecosystems — chemically infused with biologically active layers — that undergo actions like osmosis. They react and change in relation to inhabitants of the space. My research asked what applications near-living architecture might have with respect to understanding theories of emergence.
For information and interviews about my Philosopher-in-Residence research in architecture see here and here. For more on near-living architecture, see Philip Beesley Studio Inc.
I also have ongoing work in the philosophy of data science. By integrating myself in a data science laboratory I uncovered how the non-epistemic values of scientists impact research decisions and the consequences of these values in a broader societal context.
As part of this research project, I developed a novel 'value-conscious' methodological contribution to collaborative socio-technical integration—a science and technology studies (STS) method for humanities scholars wanting to engage scientists directly. For more on the experience, see this paper.
With the transactional expertise in data science earned from this project, and my work on values in science as social indicators of trust, my upcoming research in this area will reconstruct the value-rich relationship between developers, AI and publics to understand how this interaction can go beyond mere reliance and encourage socially responsible data-based innovation.
For an interview about my integrated work in computer science and values see here.
