The Royal Society of New Zealand has awarded one of its prestigious Rutherford Discovery Fellowships to a philosopher for the first time since the program’s inception. 

That philosopher is Krushil Watene, senior lecturer at Massey University. Dr. Watene works in ethics and political philosophy, and was awarded the fellowship for her project, “Intergenerational Justice: Obligations and Decision-Making.”

Rutherford Discovery Fellowships provide NZ$800,000 (approximately US$554,000) of funding over five years to “support the development of future research leaders, and assist with the retention and repatriation of New Zealand’s talented early- to mid- career researchers.” Ten are awarded each year. The fellowship program has been in place since 2010, and the majority of recipients are in the sciences.

Dr. Watene’s project is the development of  “a philosophical account of our obligations to future generations grounded in Māori concepts; and a decision-making procedure that models decision-making under conditions inclusive of our obligations to past, present, and future generations.” You can read a summary of the project here.

(via Adriane Rini)