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About

Shelly Yiran Shi

I am a Ph.D. candidate in Philosophy and Science Studies at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), specializing in the philosophy of science and philosophy of physics. Before coming to UCSD, I studied at Columbia University and the London School of Economics.

 

My primary interests lie in spacetime and laws of nature. My dissertation examines philosophical issues in General Relativity (GR), including Mach’s Principle, energy conservation, and approximation methods. It is advised by Craig Callender, with committee members Nancy Cartwright, Eddy Keming Chen, Kerry McKenzie and Raphael Flauger (physics). Some of this work was awarded the Mary Hesse Prize (PSA 2024) and the Clifton Memorial Prize (2025).

 

I also work on the metaphysics of meta-laws and symmetry principles, and have broader interests in the history of 20th-century physics (e.g., the history of GR and the post-war transformation of "big science"). I'm currently conducting archival research and interviews for an intellectual biography of Chien-Shiung Wu, a historical project that, in spirit, has become my second dissertation.

​When I am not doing philosophy or history, I can be found gardening, swimming, and dancing. You can learn more random stuff about me here.

© 2025 by Shelly Yiran Shi

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