Education

PhD, University of Toronto, 2015
BSc, University of Toronto, 2006

About

I joined the USC Philosophy Department in 2020 and in 2024 was named a McCausland Fellow by the College of Arts and Sciences. Before coming to USC, I taught at Cambridge University, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and the University of Pittsburgh. I serve as chair of the Joint Commission of the International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology (IUHPST) and member of the Division of Logic, Methodology, and Philosophy of Science (DLMPST) Council.

Research Interests

My research examines the ways in which constructing, manipulating, and evaluating scientific models enables learning about the physical systems they represent. I understand scientific models and modeling practices as facilitating the optimal use of time and other resources and aim to determine how they are able to do so. In particular, how can modeling integrate information from disparate theoretical and empirical sources most effectively? My research draws upon historical and contemporary scientific practice, particularly in structural biology. This in turn informs my work on how historical case studies can be used to draw normative philosophical conclusions about scientific practice.

Publications

• Bolinska, A. (2023). 'Epistemic expression in the determination of biomolecular structure' Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A, 100: 107-115.
• Bolinska, A. (2022). 'A monist proposal: Against integrative pluralism about protein structure', Erkenntnis. 
• Bolinska, A. & Martin, J. D. (2021). ‘The tragedy of the canon; or, path dependence in the history and philosophy of science’, Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A, 89:63-73.
  • An author interview about this paper is available at the Circle: Philosophy, Science, and History.
• Suárez, M. & Bolinska, A. (2021). ‘Informative models: Idealization and abstraction’, in Cassini, A. & Redmond, J. (eds.), Idealizations in Science:. Logic, Epistemology, and the Unity of Science, vol 50. Springer, Cham.
• Bolinska, A. & Martin, J. D. (2020) ‘Negotiating history: contingency, canonicity, and case studies’, Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 80:37-46.
  • Winner of the 2019 International Union for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology Essay Prize in the History and Philosophy of Science
  • Synopsis available in the 100th Issue of the CSHPS Communiqué 
• Bolinska, A. (2018). 'Synthetic versus analytic approaches to protein and DNA structure determination', Biology and Philosophy 33: 26.
• Bolinska, A. (2016). 'Successful visual epistemic representation', Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 56: 153–160.
• Bolinska, A. (2013). 'Epistemic representation, informativeness and the aim of faithful representation', Synthese 190: 219–34.