Sabine Roeser

Sabine Roeser is a Full Professor of Ethics at Delft University of Technology, working within the Ethics and Philosophy of Technology Section at the Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management. She has been with TU Delft since 2001 and has held several leadership positions including Head of the Ethics and Philosophy of Technology Section (2015-2020), Head of Department of Values, Technology and Innovation (2021-2024), and Acting Dean of the Faculty of TPM (November 2024-April 2025). As one of six Principal Investigators in the NWO Gravitation project on 'Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technologies' (ESDiT), she co-leads the emotions and art lines of this major research initiative.

Her educational background spans multiple disciplines, with degrees in painting (BA, Maastricht Academy of Fine Arts, 1994), philosophy (MA, University of Amsterdam, cum laude 1997), political science (MA, University of Amsterdam 1998), and a PhD in metaethics from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (2002). During her PhD studies, she conducted research at the University of Notre Dame and University of Reading.

Roeser's research focuses on the intersection of ethics, emotions, and technology, particularly in the context of risk assessment and decision-making. She has developed 'affectual intuitionism,' a metaethical theory combining ethical intuitionism with cognitive theories of emotions. Her work argues that emotions serve as forms of moral cognition that can alert us to ethically relevant aspects of risky technologies. She has published two monographs (Moral Emotions and Intuitions, 2011; Risk, Technology and Moral Emotions, 2018) and co-edited eight books with major academic publishers. Her research spans multiple technological domains including nuclear energy, climate change, transportation, and public health.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a consistent focus on the role of emotions in ethical decision-making, particularly in technological contexts. Her work increasingly explores how art can scaffold moral-emotional deliberation about risky technologies. She has made significant contributions to engineering ethics education, developing the 'Delft approach' that emphasizes problem-based learning and integration of ethical reflection throughout engineering curricula.

• More than 200 academic talks, mostly invited
• Over 100 interviews for popular media
• Member of various national and international policy advisory committees
• Former integrity officer of TU Delft (2018-2021)
• Chair of TU Delft's Human Research Ethics Committee (2014-2019)

Roeser has secured competitive funding from organizations including NWO and the EU, leading multiple research projects and supervising numerous PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers. She has played a key role in developing TU Delft's integrity policy and Code of Conduct. Her leadership has significantly grown both the Ethics and Philosophy of Technology Section and the Department of Values, Technology and Innovation.