Bryan W. Roberts

Bryan W. Roberts is a Professor of Philosophy of Science at the London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE), where he has been employed since 2013. He previously held positions as a Fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge (2019-2020) and as a Part III Lecturer in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP) at Cambridge (2019-2022). From 2020-2024, he served as Director of the LSE Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Sciences (CPNSS), and since 2024, he has co-chaired Spectrum, LSE’s LGBTQIA+ staff network.

• Education: PhD in History and Philosophy of Science (2012) from the University of Pittsburgh, supervised by John Earman and John D. Norton.

Roberts’ research spans philosophy of physics, foundations of quantum theory, symmetry, time reversal, black hole thermodynamics, and the intersection of aesthetics with science. His work often employs mathematical rigor while addressing metaphysical and epistemological questions. He is particularly known for his book Reversing the Arrow of Time (2022), which explores the origin of time’s arrow and its implications for physics.

His 15 most recent publications focus on topics such as gauge symmetry, time reversal invariance, quantum observables, Curie’s principle, and structural realism. These works bridge quantum mechanics, thermodynamics, relativity, and mathematical philosophy, often challenging conventional assumptions about causality, symmetry, and the limits of human understanding.

• Scientific Awards: Leverhulme Prize (2019).

He has advised five PhD students in philosophy of physics, with topics ranging from Hawking radiation to quantum field theory. Roberts also manages an ERC Consolidator grant for the Edge of the Universe project, which investigates boundary conditions in cosmology. Additionally, he is a proponent of open access in academic publishing and maintains a YouTube channel explaining relativity to non-specialists.