P007961 revised AU-VU:EOAS Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation

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 English AACR2 Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules Person created 2026-01-29 human Helen Cohn updated 2026-01-29 human https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P007961b.htm person Rickles Dean AACR2 17 July 1977 Place of Birth Hull, Yorkshire, United Kingdom Science historian Dean Rickles is Professor of the History and Philosophy of Modern Physics at the University of Sydney. His principal research interests are in string theory, quantum gravity and symmetries. Between 2012 and 2014 he was President of the Australasian Association for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science and Society. In 2012 he received the History and Philosophy of Science Award from the Royal Society of New South Wales.

"Professor Rickles has made seminal contributions to both the history and the philosophy of modern physics, creating two-way traffic from conceptual and philosophical issues to historical ones. His work has been used and praised by philosophers, historians, and physicists alike. In particular, he has been a central figure in the emerging field of history and philosophy of quantum gravity (the as yet unknown theory that would treat our two great fundamental theories of physics, general relativity and quantum theory, in a single framework), and has driven much of the current research landscape. He has been responsible for many firsts, including the first detailed histories of string theory, praised by its chief architect (John Schwarz), and of quantum gravity, and the first philosophical papers on dualities and loop quantum gravity." [from https://www.royalsoc.org.au/history-and-philosophy-of-science-medal/ 2026-01-29]

1999 1999 Education - MA, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom 2004 2004 Education - PhD, University of Leeds, United Kingdom 2005 2006 Career position - Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada 2007 Career position - Lecturer, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Sydney 2009 2014 Award - ARC Australian Research Fellowship 2012 2014 Career position - President, Australasian Association for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science and Society (AAHPSSS) 2014 2018 Award - ARC Future Fellowship 2021 2021 Award - History and Philosophy of Science Award, Royal Society of New South Wales Australasian Association for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science (1967 - )

President 2012 - 2014

 The University of Sydney (1850 - )

Lecturer (later Professor of History and Philosophy of Modern Physics) 2007 -

 History and Philosophy of Science Medal, Royal Society of New South Wales (2013 - )

Awarded the Medal 2021

 'Rickles, Dean', in Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology Rickles, Dean Swinburne University of Technology, Centre for Transformative Innovation Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Book: Covered in deep mist: the development of quantum gravity (1916-1956) Rickles, Dean Covered in deep mist: the development of quantum gravity (1916-1956) Oxford Oxford University Press 2020 Journal Article: Behind the scenes of the 1957 Chapel Hill Conference on the role of gravitation in physics Rickles, D. Behind the scenes of the 1957 Chapel Hill Conference on the role of gravitation in physics 2022 Journal and proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 154 483/4 224-8 Resource: The RSNSW History and Philosophy of Science Medal Royal Society of New South Wales The RSNSW History and Philosophy of Science Medal Sydney Royal Society of New South Wales 2022 Book Section: The development of quantum gravity: from feelings to phenomena Rickles, D. The development of quantum gravity: from feelings to phenomena London Routledge 2021 The Routledge companion to philosophy of physics Knox, Eleanor and Wilson, Alastair 339-50