| Nicholas Abernethy | I am a second-year PhD student. I received a BA from Queen’s University. My research interests lie in ethics, especially applied ethics. In particular, I have done work in bioethics (on assisted dying, as well as institutional conscientious objection), AI ethics (on large language model coauthorship), and climate ethics (on geoengineering). My other interests include debating, rock climbing, and fishing. |
| Leonel Alvarez Ceja (Leo) is a second-year Ph.D. student at the Sage School of Philosophy at Cornell University. He completed his B.A. in philosophy at UCLA. His primary research interests include metaphysics (with a focus on causation, mereology, social ontology, space, and time), as well as mathematical and philosophical logic.
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| Migdalia Arcila Valenzuela ma776@cornell.edu | Migdalia joined the Sage School of Philosophy in 2021. She received her BA in Philosophy and Literature from Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana in Medellín, Colombia, and her MA in Philosophy (magna cum laude) from Universidad de Los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia. Her areas of specialization include ethics, moral psychology, philosophy of race, and Latin American philosophy. Other interests include bioethics, history and philosophy of psychiatry and non-Western feminism. Migdalia has received a Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, as the Robert M. Adams fellow in philosophy, for the 2025-2026 academic year. |
| Edvard Aviles Meza eda39@cornell.edu | I am a sixth-year Ph.D. student. Before coming to Cornell, I did my B.A in Psychology and completed two masters, one in Neuroscience (UNMSM), and another one in philosophy at Central European University (CEU). My areas of interest are in the philosophy of mind and epistemology: attention and consciousness (especially through the lens of cognitive sciences). Other topics of interest include aesthetics and social philosophy (psychiatry & disability). Outside philosophy, I’m a musician and a sporadic filmmaker. I also enjoy training mixed martial arts (MMA). Edvard was a Cornell Sadov Family Graduate Student Fellow in 2024-2025. |
| Ryan Bollier | Ryan is a third-year PhD student. He received an MPhil in analytic theology from the University of St. Andrews. More recently, he was a public high school teacher in Durham, North Carolina. His interests are in moral psychology and social philosophy, especially where these disciplines bear on and relate to human vulnerability. At present, he is interested in the moral psychology of loneliness, in moral injury, and in self-illness ambiguity. He maintains additional interests in Social Work. |
| Maria Camila Castro Maldonado mcc294@cornell.edu
| I am a fifth-year PhD student at the Philosophy Department. Before coming to Cornell in 2021, I received an M.A. and B.A. in Philosophy from the Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá, Colombia). I work in social and moral philosophy, particularly in forgiveness and its relationship with norms and identity. I also work on Sound Studies and I am currently doing research on silence and listening. |
| Urna Chakrabarty uc45@cornell.edu | I joined the Sage School in 2022. My interests include social and political philosophy, ethics, epistemology, and the history of philosophy. I have a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in philosophy from St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi. I am a current Telluride Scholar, and I also work as a Pronunciation Tutor at Cornell’s English Language Support Office (ELSO). |
| Sam Cherry | Sam (he/him) is a second year PhD student. He read Philosophy, Psychology, and Linguistics at St. Edmund Hall, University of Oxford, graduating with a BA (First Class) in 2023. His interests lie mostly in the philosophy of mind and cognitive science, such as the problem of other minds; conceptual issues in the methodology of neuroscience; and the philosophy and neuroscience of mystical states, prayer, and religious ritual. He also pursues lay interests in patristics and psychedelic studies. In his spare time he enjoys choral singing and hoarding books he presumes he’ll read in the future. |
| Heeyoon Choi hc822@cornell.edu | I am a fourth-year philosophy Ph.D. student pursuing a minor in cognitive science at Cornell University. I’m mostly interested in topics surrounding the ‘-tion’ clan in philosophy of mind (perception, attention, introspection, imagination, intention, emotion, to name a few) along with consciousness, phenomenology, and objects of thought. I’m also interested in relevant topics in aesthetics and early modern philosophy. For further information: https://blog.apaonline.org/2021/07/09/apa-member-interview-heeyoon-choi/. |
| Bobbi Cohn brc88@cornell.edu | Bobbi (she/her) is a PhD candidate at Cornell University. She joined the philosophy department at Cornell in 2018, directly after she completed a BA with high honors at the University of Florida. Her dissertation has a foothold in moral psychology and a variety of applied ethics–business ethics, philosophy of education, bioethics, and philosophy of disability–as she writes about the responsibility practices in professional relationships. When not philosophizing, she is relaxing with her two cats, Theory and Practice. |
| Sara De Leonardis sd936@cornell.edu |
Her area of specialization is ancient philosophy; in particular, her research focuses on ancient epistemology and Plato's psychology. Her dissertation explores the relationship between perception and cognition in Plato’s later dialogues. She is also interested in Plato's natural philosophy, especially his physics and cosmology. Beyond ancient philosophy, she has an interest in feminist philosophy, particularly in its intersection with technology. |
Simon Dietz | Simon is a second-year PhD student. | |
Nikhil Dominic | Nikhil is a second-year PhD student. | |
Verônica Dufrayer | Verônica is a first-year PhD student. | |
Tyler Farmer tdf43@cornell.edu | Tyler is a first-year PhD student. | |
| Jaime Andres Fernandez Uribe | Jaime is a second-year PhD student. |
| Adelle Goldenberg cag328@cornell.edu | Adelle Goldenberg is a Ph.D. Candidate at the Sage School of Philosophy, and a J.D. Candidate at Harvard Law School. Her research focuses on contemporary and historical topics in feminist, political, and legal philosophy. She holds an A.B. in Philosophy from Harvard College, and an M.Phil. in Multidisciplinary Gender Studies from Cambridge University. |
| Vikram Kumar vk354@cornell.edu | Vikram joined the Sage School in 2019 and holds a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University and Master's degrees from the University of Oxford and LMU München. His area of specialization lies in ancient and medieval philosophy; in particular, his research centers on ancient and medieval epistemology, metaphysics, and logic. In this vein, his dissertation explores the metaphysics and epistemology of the seven liberal arts in the early works of Augustine. He also has significant research interests in Hellenistic epistemology and late Platonist logic and ontology. Aside from ancient and medieval philosophy, he has areas of competence in metaphysics, epistemology, and Classical Indian philosophy. |
| "Henry" Ying Kit Kwok | I joined the Sage School as a PhD student in 2023. Before joining, I received my BA from the University of Oxford. I'm studying Philosophy and Economics. My interests primarily lie in early modern and continental philosophy, particularly the works of Descartes and Nietzsche. |
| Danielle Limbaugh dzl4@cornell.edu | Danielle Limbaugh is a PhD Candidate at the Sage School of Philosophy at Cornell University. Prior to starting her PhD, Danielle obtained her JD from the University at Buffalo. Danielle’s main area of research is in human rights. Outside of philosophy, Danielle loves cooking, hiking, and spending time with her husband and two sons. |
| "Steph" Xiaoyi Lu | I’m a PhD student at Cornell. I completed my B.A. in University of Hong Kong and the B.Phil. in Oxford. My main interests are epistemology, especially knowledge-how and action theory. |
| Lavaris McCellion lm825@cornell.edu | I am a PhD. Candidate in the Sage School of Philosophy. My research interests are in Cognitive Science, Language and Logic. And I have some related interests in the philosophy of mind and the philosophy of mathematics. |
| Itay Melamed im337@cornell.edu | I joined the Sage School of Philosophy as a Ph.D. student in the fall of 2022. I received my Bachelor of Law degree (magna cum laude) from Bar-Ilan University in Israel in 2013. Following law school, I worked for several years as a lawyer in the public and private sectors, dealing mainly with constitutional law, commercial law, and human rights. During this period, I discovered my desire for philosophy and decided to pursue philosophical studies at the highest level possible. My research interests are mainly moral psychology, philosophy of emotion, and the philosophy of law. Outside of philosophy, I enjoy live music concerts, hiking, and playing tennis. |
| Michael Milhim mcm379@cornell.edu | I joined Cornell in 2020. Before Cornell I received my master’s in philosophy from Northern Illinois University and my bachelor’s in journalism and philosophy from Bowling Green State University. My research interests are mostly in moral psychology and empirically oriented normative philosophy generally. Currently I’m working on a project arguing that moral considerations seep into harm judgements and how that impacts philosophical theories of harm. Some other topics I’m interested in are parasocial relationships, the recalcitrance of caring about conventional beauty, and the many ways that employees are wronged by their employers. Outside of philosophy I play disc golf, enjoy cinema and museum art, and listen to a lot of ASMR. Feel free to contact me if you’re interested in my harm project or have a mutual philosophical interest. I’m always able to make time to talk philosophy. |
Madeline Monge mm3554@cornell.edu | Madeline is a first-year PhD student. | |
| Joseph Orttung jmo248@cornell.edu | My philosophical interests are in normative ethics and moral psychology. I’m particularly interested in the reactive attitudes of gratitude and resentment, and their place in our interpersonal relationships. Outside of philosophy, I enjoy running, music, playing chess, and hanging out with my cat, Arienette. |
| Z.K. Payne zkp2@cornell.edu | ZK (she/they) is a PhD candidate at the Sage School of Philosophy. After receiving her BA in Philosophy from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2018, she worked as a research coordinator in the Psychology department at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. ZK's philosophical interests lie primarily at the intersection of moral psychology, (meta)ethics, and aesthetics. More specifically, her dissertation focuses on empathy and its involvement in our complex affective responses to art. Outside of philosophy, ZK enjoys fiction, music, yoga, and gardening. |
| Lanxin Shi ls794@cornell.edu | Lanxin is a PhD candidate at the Sage School of Philosophy. She earned a B.A. in Humanities from NYU Shanghai in 2021. She works on 19th-20th century European philosophy, with a focus on the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. Her dissertation analyzes important ideas in Kierkegaard's religious and moral psychology, including spiritual trial, eternity, the demonic, and selfhood. Besides doing history of philosophy, she also has an interest in the contemporary discussion of (religious and non-religious) faith. Outside of philosophy, she loves knitting and spending time with her cat. |
| Arundhati Singh |
Arundhati is a second-year PhD student in the Sage School of Philosophy. |
Margret Sullivan mts258@cornell.edu | Margret is a first-year PhD student. | |
| Anni Sun as3293@cornell.edu | Anni joined the Sage School of Philosophy as a PhD student in 2022. She works primarily in Ethics and Value Theory. Currently much of her research focuses on moral psychology and the reactive attitudes. Before coming to Cornell, she received her B.A. at Peking University in China. |
| Mengqun Sun | I joined the Sage School of Philosophy as a PhD student in 2023. Before coming to Cornell, I did my MA in Philosophy at Tufts University and BA in Philosophy at Colgate University. In philosophy, I’m primarily interested in meta-normative questions, such as questions about the nature of the normative and how things within the normative domain fit together. Outside of philosophy, I enjoy listening to music and consuming Pokémon content. |
| Farhad Taraz ft246@cornell.edu | I am a sixth-year graduate student. Although I have, indeed, very broad interests in philosophy, I try to focus on questions surrounding public reason. I find those questions interesting because: first, thinking about them gratifies my desire for a practical approach to philosophy, and second, they are located at the intersection of some of my main interests: political philosophy, social epistemology, moral psychology, and philosophy of language. Before coming to Cornell I lived an eventful life. |
| Matthew "Gus" Turyn mat298@cornell.edu |
I’m a fifth-year PhD student in philosophy. Before coming to Cornell, I completed an MA in philosophy at Georgia State University. I’m interested in the metaphysics and epistemology of modality, especially as they relate to questions about moral agency and our emotions, and in feminist philosophy. Gus will be the Norman Malcolm Exchange student for fall 2025, visiting at King's College in the UK. |
| Bianca Waked | Bianca Waked (she/they) is a Deaf Ph.D. Candidate at Cornell University's Sage School of Philosophy currently writing a dissertation on ableism and modal oppression. Her areas of research include Deaf philosophy, philosophy of disability, feminist philosophy (with a particular focus on Arab Islamic feminism), and the philosophy of language. Areas of interests include the history of analytic philosophy, philosophy of art, and the philosophy of law. She was a Graduate Fellow at Cornell's Society for the Humanities for the academic year 2024-2025. In 2019, she founded the APA-Sponsored Diversity Institute “PLUSS” and currently serves as the program director. She is a former Telluride Scholar, recipient of both the Mike Yarrow Adventurous Education Award and the George Lincoln Burr Award, and her research has been generously funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. She holds a B.A. from McGill University (First-Class Honors) and an M.A. from McMaster University. |
| Siyi (Claudia) Wang sw726@cornell.edu | I am a fifth-year PhD candidate at the Sage School of Philosophy. I work on Plato's political philosophy and moral psychology. I received my BA from NYU (manga cum laude with honor in philosophy) where I majored in philosophy and minored in Classics. In my free time, I enjoy lifting with friends and cycling. |
| Geoffrey Weiss gw299@cornell.edu | Geoffrey joined the Sage School in 2021, arriving after some graduate work at Tulane University. He received his B.A. in Philosophy and Religious Studies from Hunter College in 2011 and took some time off to travel the world and save sick and injured penguins before getting his Master’s Degree in Philosophy in 2016 from Claremont Graduate University. Geoffrey’s research interests are primarily in metaethics, moral psychology and normative ethics. He is currently working on a dissertation on what it means for something to be morally unthinkable. |
| Hannah Winckler-Olick hew52@cornell.edu |
Hannah joined the Sage School in 2018. Hannah received her B.A. in Philosophy from the College of William and Mary in 2018. Her PhD research focuses on 19th and 20th century European philosophy, especially Existentialism, and normative ethics. Her dissertation sketches an existentialist theory of responsibility and examines how such a theory can address contemporary moral and political issues, including racial privilege and gender dynamics. Other interests include feminist philosophy, theories of forgiveness, and concepts of violence. Visit Hannah’s website at https://hannahwincklerolick.com/! |
| Guyu Zhu gz238@cornell.edu |
Guyu’s website: www.zhuguyu.com |
| Peggy Zhu pz243@cornell.edu | Peggy joined the Sage School in 2018 after receiving her B.A. in philosophy from Wellesley College. Her research is primarily in ancient philosophy. Her dissertation seeks to answer questions about ethics, moral psychology, and epistemology in Plato’s erotic dialogues, including the Symposium and the Phaedrus. Outside her research on Plato, she likes to think about questions in contemporary philosophy of love and their potential connections with ancient theories of eros. |