From Hong Kong to Beijing and Kunshan, IHPST alumni are building academic careers across Asia, bringing with them the interdisciplinary training and intellectual flexibility that define the program. Their trajectories highlight not only the diversity of professional paths available to IHPST graduates, but also the evolving connections between institutions in North America and Asia.
A common thread across their experiences is the formative role of IHPST as an intellectual environment that encourages exploration across disciplinary boundaries. As Adrian K. Yee, now Assistant Professor at Hong Kong Baptist University, reflects: “The IHPST […] accepts probably the widest array of student backgrounds of any graduate program in the entirety of North America [...] As a consequence, it creates a graduate student environment at once diverse, chaotic, and yet lively.
This openness to diverse academic backgrounds and research interests allowed him to pursue an interdisciplinary path spanning philosophy of science, social science, and machine learning. He also emphasizes the importance of historical training within that experience: “I am grateful for extensive coursework in the history of science… I became a far more sophisticated philosopher by a careful reading of history, learning historical methods, and understanding the temporality of concept formation. This had indirect effects on the applied philosophy of science and PPE (philosophy, politics, economics) that I do now in my current work.
For Zhixiang Cheng, Assistant Professor at Tsinghua University, IHPST similarly provided both intellectual breadth and a strong analytical foundation. After completing his PhD in 2022, he returned to China, where he navigated a rapidly evolving academic landscape before securing his current position. Reflecting on institutional differences, he notes both continuity and change: “Universities in China have been experiencing reforms in recent years. Some of them, the leading ones in particular, have introduced tenure-track systems similar to those in North America […] it is difficult to give any uniform depiction.” At the same time, he points to structural and cultural differences that shape student life and academic relationships: “Graduate students are less self-organized. We do not have a common room or carrel room to share [...] and the relationship between graduate students and their professors is traditionally a little less ‘equal’ than that in Toronto.”
Jan Hua-Henning, Assistant Professor at Duke Kunshan University, also highlights the importance of interdisciplinary training at IHPST, particularly in preparing him for teaching in a liberal arts environment: “Professors at the IHPST do not restrict themselves to disciplinary boundaries when seeking to understand the production of knowledge. While many of us still grapple with true integration of philosophy and history, we often overlook how readily we incorporate perspectives from the natural sciences, humanities, and social sciences. This ability is essential in my current position as a team lead for an interdisciplinary teaching team of twelve professors.” His move to Asia also reflects a long-standing interest in comparative and transnational perspectives: “Moving to a university in Asia facilitates researching new locales and entanglements. My colleagues here, for instance, study East Asian philosophy, Global History, or write about World War Two in non-Western contexts. Certainly, there are scholars at U of T who also conduct such work, but for me personally, the opportunities for daily encounters with these perspectives are exceptional here.
While their paths to Asia differ, all three alumni emphasize that such trajectories are shaped by a combination of intellectual interests, institutional opportunities, and personal decisions. Their experiences also highlight the diversity of academic environments across the region. Rather than presenting a single model, their accounts point to varied institutional cultures, expectations, and opportunities for research and teaching. For instance, Adrian pointed out that “The serendipitous decision to write a dissertation on misinformation, with a chapter on machine learning, led to a publication during my PhD in the leading journal Philosophy of Science, which was recognized by several hiring committees as proof of competency in philosophy of artificial intelligence for both the postdoc I took at Lingnan University and the tenure-track job I now hold. Hong Kong academia is very demanding in terms of publication requirements […] but is compensated accordingly in various ways. I encourage young scholars to consider jobs internationally, not just in Asia, as the opportunities can sometimes be greater than you might imagine if you are willing to move. Study whatever interests you and study hard: things will work out in the end.
Alumni also identify strong potential for collaboration between IHPST and institutions in Asia. For instance, Zhixiang notes a growing interest in international partnerships: “I see a great future for collaborations between IHPST and Chinese institutions. Collaborations can be of diverse forms: visiting scholars, visiting students, summer schools, joint workshops or conferences, or even joint Ph.D. programs, etc. For instance, Peking University, Fudan University, and Macquarie University have formed a Sino-Australian Philosophy of Life Sciences Network (SAPoLSN) in the past few years. They hold summer schools and workshops, in which many philosophers like Alan Love and Pierrick Bourrat have participated.” Jan similarly points to concrete opportunities for exchange: “In regard to my home institution, DKU, I see valuable opportunities for collaboration. One of our common core courses is titled ‘Global Challenges in Science, Technology, and Health.’ I could see IHPST doctoral students or recent graduates as excellent candidates for joining for a semester or two as Global Fellows (Postdocs) who teach the course. More broadly speaking, there is significant interest among Chinese scholars of science to exchange ideas in international settings. The IHPST, as a leading institution for HPS in North America, could certainly play a role here. There exist many opportunities for building bridges, for instance, by contacting historians and philosophers based in the numerous Academies of Sciences around the country. I’m currently supporting Nelson Arellano and the International Committee for the History of Technology (ICOHTEC) in fostering research exchange with HPS scholars in China.” These perspectives underscore the role that IHPST can play as a hub in an increasingly interconnected academic landscape.
Even across continents, echoes of shared academic life persist in conversations, collaborations, and the everyday practices of research and teaching. As these alumni demonstrate, careers in the history and philosophy of science are not confined by geography, but are shaped by a willingness to move across intellectual and institutional boundaries.
About the Alumni
Dr. Adrian K. Yee is Assistant Professor in the Department of Religion and Philosophy at Hong Kong Baptist University. He completed his PhD under the supervision of Professors Brian Baigrie and Denis Walsh, with a dissertation on misinformation, machine learning, and political philosophy. His research focuses on applications of machine learning in the social sciences, particularly in relation to national security and public policy, and has appeared in leading journals in philosophy of science.
Dr. Zhixiang Cheng is Assistant Professor in the Department of the History of Science at Tsinghua University. He received his PhD under the supervision of Professor Denis Walsh and worked as a research assistant with Professor Chen-Pang Yeang on projects in the history of science and technology. His research examines the explanatory and interpretative roles of mathematical models in evolutionary biology, contributing to ongoing discussions in philosophy of science and life sciences.
Dr. Jan Hua-Henning is Assistant Professor of the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology at Duke Kunshan University, with an affiliate appointment at Duke University. He completed his PhD under the supervision of Professor Rebecca Woods. His research focuses on the history of technology, risk, and disaster, with a particular emphasis on Germany and the United States, and he teaches interdisciplinary courses on global challenges in science, technology, and health. He is currently completing a book project on the rise of urban industrial risk response. Find his newest article on the politics of critical infrastructure here.