UB is a world center of research in applied ontology, opening the doors for our graduate students to successful careers in informatics and data science in fields such as biomedicine, finance, defense and security.
10/12/23

We have built the world’s only philosophy PhD program with a focus on ontology. The annual starting salaries for our graduates can reach to $175,000. Learn more.

PPE Undergraduate Degree Program
10/12/23
The Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) degree program gives students a set of interdisciplinary tools to think rigorously about solving social problems. Learn more.
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About Us

A broad range of expertise with cross-disciplinary ties

Graduate Program

Research-driven mentoring and instruction

Undergraduate Program

Prepare for career pathways in Philosophy

Applied Ontology

Earn a master's degree in a cutting edge research area

PPE Program

Blending philosophy, politics, and economics
FACULTY PUBLICATIONS listed on PhilPapers
WHY STUDY PHILOSOPHY: Individuals with degrees in philosophy have higher life-time earnings than other humanities students.
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EVENTS

  • PPE Speaker Series
    5/23/24

    Many of today’s most pressing problems – climate change, political polarization, equal access to education – are complex in nature, giving rise to both practical and ethical concerns. The burgeoning field of Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) harnesses the expertise and methods from both the social sciences and philosophy to make meaningful progress on these multifaceted issues. This speaker series serves as a collaborative nexus, bringing together social scientists and philosophers to discuss and disseminate cutting-edge research at the heart of PPE. Learn more about the speakers, here.

  • Bioethics Workshops
    10/23/23
    The Bioethics Workshop Series is hosted by the Romanell Center for Clinical Ethics and the Philosophy of Medicine. The workshops connect to the Center's robust tradition of organizing academic events that expand collaborative research while reflecting a focus on bioethics in today's complex health care concerns. The full schedule is here.
RELATED EVENTS

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News and Notes

  • Routledge publishes second edition of Why Machines Will Never Rule the World.
    8/12/22
    In the revised second edition of Why Machines Will Never Rule the World, Jobst Landgrebe and Barry Smith argue that Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is mathematically impossible. Drawing on fields from neuroscience to physics, they explain why the human brain’s complexity can’t be replicated in machines and why even advanced systems like ChatGPT can’t truly think or feel. This edition updates their case for the era of Large Language Models, debunks myths of digital immortality and simulated realities, and reframes “AI ethics” as a matter of how humans use technology—not how machines behave. An essential read for anyone questioning the hype around AI.
  • TechGuide Podcast: Career Opportunities in Tech for Non-STEM Students
    11/1/24

    Barry Smith delivers the secret to breaking into tech for non-stem students. TechGuide podcast host Ryan Atkinson interviews Dr. Smith about the best tech-related educational and career opportunities. Topics include: Importance of Ontologies; Career Opportunities for Non-STEM Students; Industry Demand; Skills and Traits of a Successful Ontologist; and Educational Pathways and Resources. The TechGuide podcast is here.

  • Commercializing Ontology; Lucrative Jobs for Philosophers
    11/1/24

    An interview with Barry Smith and John Beverley is featured in the APA Blog Substack Newsletter. They reveal how philosophers can transition into interesting and lucrative public/private sector jobs in ontology. Read the blog, here.

  • John Beverley wins $3.8 million grant from NIH
    9/19/24
    Congratulations to John Beverley, winner a $3.8 million grant from the National Institute on Aging. Beverley's project is focused on philosophically-informed ontology development related to the psychological study of aging.  Read the news story by Bert Gambini.
  • Templeton Foundation $2.5 million grant supercharges PPE research capacities
    7/22/24
    The John Templeton Foundation has awarded a $2.5 million research grant to support the work of faculty in UB’s Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) program. The innovative research project will demonstrate how diversity, disagreement and dynamism are crucial resources for fueling an open society, not problems to be managed. Professor Ryan Muldoon, who directs the PPE program, is the grant’s principal investigator. Co-principal investigators include fellow UB faculty members Justin Bruner, associate professor of philosophy; David Emmanuel Gray, associate teaching professor of philosophy; Jacob Neiheisel, associate professor of political science; Alexandra Oprea, assistant professor of philosophy; Alexander Schaefer, assistant professor of philosophy; and Erik Kimbrough, Chapman University professor of political economy and philosophy.
Department News

Ontology Student Showcase

  • Karl Xie
    12/19/24
    Peihong (Karl) Xie is currently a PhD student in University of Vienna.  When he stayed at UB, he did a research project on translating BFO axioms in terms of the strategy of temporally qualified continuants (TQCs). Besides, he is a member of the Provenance Ontology Mapping Project, who is responsible for writing the qualified terms part of the final research paper.
  • Bill Mandrick
    12/19/24
    Bill Mandrick is Associate Director for Ontology Development at the RTX Model Based Digital Thread Process Control Center (MBDT PCC).  He is the primary architect of the RTX Enterprise Ontology (REO) and consults on numerous compliant ontologies that span the product lifecycle. Prior to his work at RTX, Bill developed ontologies for the Department of Defense (DoD), Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and Department of Homeland Security (DHS). He also served for 34 years in the U.S. Army in a variety of positions finally retiring as a Senior Research Fellow at the Joint Special Operations University (JSOU). Bill earned his Doctorate in Ontology at the University at Buffalo.
  • Austin Liebers
    10/8/24
    Austin Liebers is currently a UB PhD candidate who started working on applied ontology in 2022 by joining a student working group on mapping the Provenance Ontology into Basic Formal Ontology. Since then, he has joined the Common Core Ontology working group, presented Provenance Ontology mapping work at SAIC and the University of Toronto, and has been interning at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory over the 2023-2024 academic year as an ontology engineering specialist. On his own time, Austin is working on ontologies of vocalizations and card games. 
  • Giacomo De Colle
    12/19/24
    Giacomo De Colle is currently a UB PhD student. Giacomo first learned about ontology during his MA in Switzerland, during which he worked on the ontology of AI with Professor Barry Smith.  Giacomo then moved to UB and became a member of the group mapping the Provenance Ontology into the Basic Formal Ontology. Since then, he has worked with Professor John Beverley on projects related to the Common Core Ontologies, the methodology of ontology engineering, and the ontology of occupations. Moreover, he has worked with Professor Alexander Diehl on the ontology of protein conformations and has worked as an intern for OntoSys LLC as an ontology consultant specialist for Pistoia Alliance. Currently, Giacomo is devoting his research to the ontology of state actors and cybersecurity with Professors Barry Smith, John Beverley and Ryan Muldoon.
  • Patrick Ray, Ph.D.
    12/19/24
    Patrick Ray is an ontologist at the Allen Institute for Brain Science where he develops and maintains ontologies, data and metadata standards, models, and knowledge graphs related to neuroscientific research. He is involved in many collaborative projects including the NIH BRAIN Initiative projects BICCN and BICAN as well as SEA-AD, with a particular interest in FAIR data sharing, data standardization, and linked data systems. Patrick has contributed to and developed many ontologies, with a particular focus on neuroanatomy ontologies, cell ontologies, disease ontologies, and ontologies related to scientific experiments and research, including scientific conclusions and evidence.  Prior to working at the Allen Institute, he completed his PhD under the supervision of David Braun, Lewis Powell, and Neil Williams. At UB, Alexander Diehl mentored Patrick and together they worked on a number of ontologies including:  the cell ontology, neurological disease ontology, neuropsychological testing ontology, the ocular disease ontology, and the retinal cell ontology (among others).
  • Giorgio A. Ubbiali
    6/13/25
    Giorgio A. Ubbiali is currently a PhD student at the University of Milan (UNIMI) and a doctoral fellow at the International Center for Food Ontology Operability Data and Semantics (IC-FOODS).  His areas of interest are ontology of sustainability and food. Through a transdisciplinary approach spanning biology, philosophy, and informatics, Giorgio is designing strategies to support food systems stakeholders in developing ontologies and related resources to deal with the sustainability of the systems they belong to.  In 2023, he was a visiting scholar at the University at Buffalo, training in philosophy, ontology, and logic, under the supervision of Professors Barry Smith and John Beverley.
  • Cameron More, MA, Applied Ontology
    10/8/24
    Cameron More graduated from the University at Buffalo in 2021 with a master's degree in philosophy. At UB, he studied with Dr. Barry Smith, Dr. John Beverley, and Dr. James Lawler, writing his master's project on continental metaphysics. Since graduating, Cameron has worked for various government contractors, doing applied ontology with the skills he acquired at UB. He currently works for CUBRC, Inc. and serves as secretary for the IEEE Ontology Standards Working Group.
  • Olivia Hobai
    10/8/24
    Olivia Hobai is a UB undergraduate student majoring in Philosophy. She came to the University at Buffalo from Lexington, Massachusetts to study Basic Formal Ontology (BFO) with Dr. Barry Smith. Her applications of interest are in systemic interactions, social constructs, and common-sense experience. She is currently the Lead Editor on the Common Core Ontologies repository, one of the most widely used extensions of the Basic Formal Ontology.
  • Ian Knowland
    10/8/24
    Ian Knowland is currently a UB undergraduate student majoring in both Philosophy and Linguistics. His interest in Applied Ontology led him first to UB’s undergraduate Ontology Club and then a seminar with Dr. John Beverley on the topic of intelligence analysis and ontology engineering. Outside of school, Ian is a researcher associated with the National Center for Ontological Research (NCOR) and maintains a position as a Knowledge Engineer at Summit Knowledge Systems, LLC where he provides ontology solutions to a variety of industry partners and missions.
  • Ali Hasanzadeh
    12/19/24
    Ali Hasanzadeh graduated from UB in 2023 with an MA in philosophy. He worked with Dr. John Beverley and Dr. Barry Smith, writing his master's thesis on the comparison analysis of ontology-building methods. Ali is currently a Ph.D. student of systems engineering at Arizona State University, working with Dr. Farhad Ameri on IOF-SupplyChain ontology. His dissertation focuses on sustainable development and lifecycle in the supply chain. He has received a fellowship from USDA and has recently started a consultant ontologist job at the Air Force Research Lab and his activity in the IOF community is focused on an ontology of certificates.
See All

PPE SPOTLIGHT

  • Laibah Mir receives Fulbright award to study in Jordan
    6/20/25
    Laibah Mir, a graduating student in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE), has been awarded the prestigious U.S. Fulbright award, a highly competitive national scholarship that supports study, research, and teaching abroad. For the 2025–2026 academic year, she will serve as an English Teaching Assistant in Amman, Jordan—becoming the first UB student in a decade to earn a Fulbright placement in the MENA region. Laibah's deep engagement with language, migration, and education, shaped by over two years as a Teaching Assistant in UB’s Linguistics Department and her work with refugee resettlement centers in Buffalo, drives her commitment to community-centered learning. In Amman, Laibah will conduct English language instruction in the classroom while also volunteering in local refugee camps, where she looks forward to meaningfully engaging with displaced Palestinian and Syrian communities. In this work, Laibah looks forward to fostering open dialogue while deepening her understanding of displaced communities through their resilience, stories, and perspectives. Read news story by Charles Anzalone.
  • The Baldy Center Blog features Alexandra Oprea and Daniel J. Stephens
    10/30/24
    In the year 2024, there are national elections across 73 different democracies with different electoral systems. Over 1.5 billion voters (of an eligible 2.4 billion) have already cast a ballot in 56 of these elections and at least another billion are expected to do so by the end of the year *.  We presume that these voters want to discharge their duty competently, but what would it mean for them to do so?
  • Laibah Mir receives SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence
    5/20/25
    Graduating Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) student Laibah Mir is one of only 15 recipients of the 2025 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence, the highest honor SUNY bestows upon its students. An Honors College scholar, Laibah was selected as UB’s second Key into Public Service Scholar by the Phi Beta Kappa Society. She published a policy proposal through the Honors College Think Tank and is conducting graduate-level research in critical race theory for an educational journal. Mir is president of the Muslim Students Association and interns for the Women’s Peace Network, a global nonprofit that documents political and gender-based violence in Myanmar. Read news story by Anna Heinz.
  • Katie Johnson and Vi Vonderhaar have been awarded the Adam Smith Fellowship by Mercatus, a highly competitive fellowship in which graduate students gather to discuss classic works in political economy.
    Philosophy graduate students win Mercatus' Adam Smith Fellowships
    6/18/24

    Philosophy graduate students Katie Johnson and Vi Vonderhaar have each been awarded Adam Smith Fellowships by Mercatus, a highly competitive fellowship in which graduate students gather to discuss classic works in political economy.

  • Oprea and Stephens co-author paper on the duties of democratic citizens
    9/25/24
    Alexandra Oprea and Daniel Stephens have co-authored a thought-provoking paper that was recently published in the journal Politics, Philosophy & Economics. According to the co-authors, the first duty of a democratic citizen is voting in ways that keep their democracy a democracy. Read the research news article by Bert Gambini.
  • Philosophy, Politics and Economics program recognized as a ‘Hidden Gem’
    9/30/24
    The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) has recognized UB's Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) program as a ‘Hidden Gem’ that enhances students’ analytical skills. The program creates prepared leaders eager to shape and improve the relationship between markets and the liberal sociopolitical order. Read the news story by Bert Gambini.
  • Community Leadership Micro-credential
    10/16/24
    Community Leadership is a three-course micro-credential that provides undergraduate students with an integrated set of skills and experiences from Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) that will enable them to practice social innovation and create positive change within their communities.
  • Templeton Foundation $2.5 million grant supercharges PPE research capacities
    7/22/24
    The John Templeton Foundation has awarded a $2.5 million research grant to support the work of faculty in UB’s Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) program. The innovative research project will demonstrate how diversity, disagreement and dynamism are crucial resources for fueling an open society, not problems to be managed. Professor Ryan Muldoon, who directs the PPE program, is the grant’s principal investigator. Co-principal investigators include fellow UB faculty members Justin Bruner, associate professor of philosophy; David Emmanuel Gray, associate teaching professor of philosophy; Jacob Neiheisel, associate professor of political science; Alexandra Oprea, assistant professor of philosophy; Alexander Schaefer, assistant professor of philosophy; and Erik Kimbrough, Chapman University professor of political economy and philosophy.
  • PPE Forum on Inclusion
    11/26/24

    The workshop will explore ways to create more inclusive communities for refugees and immigrants.

Department News

Alumni Notes

  • Oxford publishes Jake Monaghan's book: Just Policing
    4/24/23
    Oxford University Press has announced the publication of Just Policing, a new book by Jake Monaghan, PhD, UB Philosophy Alum. He was recently appointed assistant professor, tenure track, at the University of Southern California (USC). Monaghan states, "My research is concerned with realized, as opposed to abstract, institutions. I am interested in whether and how we can justify the actual institutions we live in on grounds we can all accept. Further, I explore the moral obligations that arise out of, or in response to, the imperfections of realized institutions."  Monaghan's  dissertation, Theory of Consent, was completed in 2019. Professor Ryan Muldoon served as advisor.
  • UB Philosophy PhD Leo Zaibert appointed to Hirsch Professorship in Cambridge University
    7/11/22
    The UB Department of Philosophy is pleased to announce that Leo Zaibert, one of our most successful PhD students, has been elected to the Hirsch Professorship of Penal Theory and Ethics in Cambridge University, effective September 1 2022. Zaibert’s dissertation, which he completed in 1997 under the joint supervision of UB professors James B. Brady and Barry Smith, is on the topic of “Intentionality and blame: A study on the foundations of culpability” and won the UB Philosophy Department Perry Prize. Zaibert is the author of over 100 publications, including books, edited books and dozens of peer-reviewed articles.
  • William Duncan, PhD, named UFCD's first Artificial Intelligence-focused hire
    10/31/24
    The University at Buffalo Department of Philosophy congratulates our alumnus, William Duncan, PhD, on being named by the University of Florida, College of Dentistry as the college’s first artificial intelligence-focused hire. “I am thrilled to have Dr. Duncan on board to help guide and support UFCD in the development of our vision for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI-related research initiatives and goals,” said Dean A. Isabel Garcia. 
  • Alumnus Profile: Patrick Ray, PhD, Ontologist
    5/10/24
    The Department of Philosophy is pleased to present an alumnus profile featuring Patrick Ray, PhD. He provides insight about his time at UB, and offers perpective on his personal life, academic path, and professional career as an ontologist for the Allen Institute for Brain Science.
  • Alumnus Profile: William S. Mandrick PhD, Ontologist
    2/13/24
    The Department of Philosophy is pleased to present an alumnus profile featuring William Mandrick, PhD. He graciously agreed to answer our inquiries about his experience with our faculty, and perspectives on his personal life, academic path, and professional career as an ontologist for the United States Army.

Faculty Research

Sample Areas of Research
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PHILOSOPHY NEWS SPOTLIGHT

  • John Beverley wins $3.8 million grant from NIH
    9/19/24
    Congratulations to John Beverley, winner a $3.8 million grant from the National Institute on Aging. Beverley's project is focused on philosophically-informed ontology development related to the psychological study of aging.  Read the news story by Bert Gambini.
  • Philosophy, Politics and Economics program recognized as a ‘Hidden Gem’
    9/30/24
    The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) has recognized UB's Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) program as a ‘Hidden Gem’ that enhances students’ analytical skills. The program creates prepared leaders eager to shape and improve the relationship between markets and the liberal sociopolitical order. Read the news story by Bert Gambini.
  • Oprea and Stephens co-author paper on the duties of democratic citizens
    9/25/24
    Alexandra Oprea and Daniel Stephens have co-authored a thought-provoking paper that was recently published in the journal Politics, Philosophy & Economics. According to the co-authors, the first duty of a democratic citizen is voting in ways that keep their democracy a democracy. Read the research news article by Bert Gambini.
  • Templeton Foundation $2.5 million grant supercharges PPE research capacities
    7/22/24
    The John Templeton Foundation has awarded a $2.5 million research grant to support the work of faculty in UB’s Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) program. The innovative research project will demonstrate how diversity, disagreement and dynamism are crucial resources for fueling an open society, not problems to be managed. Professor Ryan Muldoon, who directs the PPE program, is the grant’s principal investigator. Co-principal investigators include fellow UB faculty members Justin Bruner, associate professor of philosophy; David Emmanuel Gray, associate teaching professor of philosophy; Jacob Neiheisel, associate professor of political science; Alexandra Oprea, assistant professor of philosophy; Alexander Schaefer, assistant professor of philosophy; and Erik Kimbrough, Chapman University professor of political economy and philosophy.
  • Cosmos+Taxis publishes symposium on the work of Jobst Landgrebe and Barry Smith
    5/29/24
    The journal Cosmos+Taxis, 12 (5+6), has published a symposium on Jobst Landgrebe and Barry Smith, Why Machines Will Never Rule the World: Artificial Intelligence without Fear. The issue includes papers and reviews by more than eighteen authors.
  • Barry Smith: "Human creativity will never be replaced by artificial intelligence."
    5/9/24
    The Bruno Leoni Institute featured Barry Smith talking with his avatar. His digital alter ego asks questions and he answers them. The physical resemblance to Smith is impressive, but the way the avatar speaks is a little less so. It was one of the most awaited moments of the meeting organized at the Ogr in Turin by the Crt foundation and the Bruno Leoni institute.
  • BFO and CCO adopted as 'baseline standards' by federal agencies
    3/4/24
    Under the leadership of Barry Smith, on-going research by UB ontologists has resulted in the development of Basic Formal Ontology (BFO), an international standard top-level ontology that provides the common starting point for 100s of ontology initiatives throughout the world. Here in Buffalo, BFO has been extended to form the Common Core Ontologies (CCO), which is a family of mid-level ontologies used especially in military and security domains. BFO and CCO allow information to be effectively combined, retrieved and analyzed. In January of this year, the Chief Data Officers in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the DOD, and, the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office defined BFO and CCO as the baseline standards for ontology work in the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community.
  • Alexandra Oprea's research on compulsory voting published by Cambridge UP
    3/8/24
    Alexandria Oprea's research, published online by Cambridge University Press, strengthens the normative case for compulsory voting by arguing that it could improve democracy by reducing polarization, which existing work suggests can lead to democratic backsliding. Read the news story by Bert Gambini.
  • PPE student initiative helps make BUFFALO SOUP a recurring event
    2/5/24
    PHI 485, Integrating PPE, is a course that challenges students to find a way to concretely make a social improvement, and then do it. One team accomplished that with BUFFALO SOUP. Their professor, Dr. David Gray, designed the philosophy course. He states, “I am really proud of our PPE students who continue working on their capstone project from Spring 2023, transforming Buffalo Soup into a regular Buffalo institution that is now bringing in partners from other colleges at UB.” BUFFALO SOUP is now apart of a micro-funding group. Read news story by David J. Hill.
  • Jiyuan Yu's philosophical legacy is examined in two new books
    11/1/23
    The philosophical legacy of Jiyuan Yu is examined in two new books. Published in 2023, both books are written in Chinese. The first, Between Ancient and Modern China and the West: Academic Anthology of Jiyuan Yu, is a collection of his important articles and of responses by other scholars. The second, Lecture on Aristotle's Metaphysics, contains a series of lectures delivered in 2011 by Professor Yu at Shandong University that were later compiled by Professor Yu’s doctoral students.
  • PHI 485 students deliver new areas for reading at Buffalo City Mission
    10/31/24
    When the student team in the PPE course, PHI 485, identified a need for places to read inside the Buffalo City Mission, they proceeded to develop three areas, and built bookshelves for over 1,000 donated books for the residents. Their capstone project is the subject of an article by Charles Anzalone, UB News.
  • Philosophy graduate students selected as Social Impact Fellows
    5/16/23
    The Department of Philosophy is pleased to announce that three graduate students have been selected as Social Impact Fellows for Summer 2023. Botan Dolun, Katrina Johnson, and Noah Kim are among ten graduate students selected for this program. They’ll each receive a $5,000 stipend and spend the summer interning with a local, Buffalo non-profit organization. Learn more about the program.