Vanessa Schipani
Philosopher. educator. Journalist.
I'm currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media. In 2025, I completed a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to this, I was a science journalist for 10 years, working most recently for FactCheck.org, where I vetted claims made by politicians about climate change to public health.
As a philosopher, I examine the importance of science communication in maintaining a functioning democracy. For example, see my recent paper in Synthese. My research relates to debates about inductive risk and values in science in the philosophy of science, public reason in political philosophy and trust in social epistemology and ethics. Research in the social sciences on science communication informs my work.
I also take seriously my role as an educator. While I enjoy teaching unique courses in my area of expertise, such as a "Science Communication in Democracy" course highlighted in an article in UPenn's newsletter, I'm also adept and eager to teach an array introductory courses, such as Introduction to Philosophy, Philosophy of Science, Political Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, Bioethics, Environmental Ethics, Ethics, Epistemology, American Pragmatism, and more.
When I'm not teaching or conducting research, I organize events that put journalists and philosophers in the same room. This included a session on the philosophy of science journalism at the 2022 Philosophy of Science Association Conference and a Science in Democracy Series at the University of Pennsylvania in 2023. For a PDF version of my full CV, see here (last updated Sept. 2025). Please feel free to contact me at schipani@sas.upenn.edu.