معرفی
Silvio Oscar Funtowicz is a Guest Researcher at the Centre for the Study of the Sciences and the Humanities (SVT) at the University of Bergen. He previously held a Professor II position at SVT (2012–2021) and was a scientific officer at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre until his 2011 retirement. His work focuses on Post-Normal Science (PNS), a framework addressing complex societal challenges where facts are uncertain, values are contested, and decisions are urgent.
Education and Career: Funtowicz began his career teaching mathematics and logic in Buenos Aires, Argentina, before becoming a Research Fellow at the University of Leeds (1980s). He collaborated extensively with Jerome R. Ravetz, co-developing PNS and the NUSAP uncertainty management system. His affiliations include the European Centre for Governance in Complexity (ECGC).
Research Interests: Central to his work is the integration of science with policy under uncertainty, emphasizing participatory decision-making and extended peer communities. Key areas include environmental governance, climate change, synthetic biology ethics, and sustainability transitions. He critiques technocratic approaches, advocating for reflexive science that engages societal values.
Publications and Impact: Funtowicz’s 1993 paper Science for the post-normal age remains highly cited. His collaborations span institutions globally, producing influential works on sensitivity auditing, risk governance, and the crisis in science quality. Recent efforts address post-pandemic science’s role in complex crises.
Awards: He received the Kenneth E. Boulding Memorial Award for Ecological Economics, recognizing contributions to systems thinking and sustainability.
Advocacy and Outreach: Funtowicz promotes participatory science through lectures, podcasts, and articles. His work highlights the need for narratives over rigid predictions in addressing global challenges like climate change and biodiversity loss.
Labs/Teams: He contributes to the European Centre for Governance in Complexity (ECGC), fostering transdisciplinary approaches to sustainability governance.
