STARKVILLE, Miss.—The American Association for the Advancement of Science is honoring Mississippi State University Professor John Bickle as an AAAS Fellow for his distinguished contributions to the philosophy of science and neuroscience.
AAAS, founded in 1848, is one of the world’s largest general scientific societies and began electing fellows beginning in 1874. Election is among the most esteemed honors in the scientific community, recognizing individuals with exceptional efforts toward the advancement of science or its applications.
Bickle will travel with his wife, Marica Bernstein, and family to Washington, D.C., for formal recognition at the annual AAAS Fellows Forum this May.
College of Arts and Sciences Dean Rick Travis said Bickle is an example of the university’s exemplary faculty members.
“Dr. Bickle is an internationally known expert for his contributions to science. He is a leader in bringing scientists from philosophy, psychology, neurobiology and neuroscience together to study the evolution of the human brain, cognition and behavior. The contributions from the transdisciplinary nature of his work over four decades and his 16 years at MSU make him very deserving of this prestigious recognition,” Travis said.
Bickle joined MSU in 2009 as head of the Department of Philosophy and Religion and served in that role for a decade. The philosophy professor is affiliated with the university’s Shackouls Honors College and serves as a scientist-educator in the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s Department of Advanced Biomedical Education.
A longtime AAAS member, Bickle has served as an American Philosophical Association representative to the organization. He also is an honorary life member of the Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology, a rare distinction held by fewer than 20 social scientists nationwide. Additionally, he has played an active role in developing the Deep South Philosophy and Neuroscience Workgroup , a regional nonprofit now including international stakeholders.
Bickle began his studies in the science of the brain before “neuroscience” became a widely used term, he said. The Texas native earned his 1983 bachelor’s degree in philosophy and psychobiology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and then completed master’s and doctoral degrees in philosophy with neurobiology concentrations from the University of California, Irvine in 1989. During his college days, he connected with neuroscience pioneers, learning that what he initially thought of as separate disciplines were, in fact, deeply connected.
“People often are surprised to find someone who’s in a STEM discipline, like neuroscience, and a humanities discipline, like philosophy. They often ask what’s the connection,” Bickle said. “My focus on the reductive areas of neuroscience is a quest to discover how basic biological mechanisms in the brain function to produce memory, language or attention.” He explained his work on isolating proteins has been done with the hope of generating useful treatments.
“The hope is that this is going to be the path toward therapeutics for various kinds of mental disorders,” he said.
Bickle has written four academic books, including his 2014 Oxford University Press publication “Engineering the Next Revolution in Neuroscience” with co-authors Alcino J. Silva and Anthony Landreth. He also has approximately 100 journal articles and book chapters, edited two major volumes of essays, and delivered invited lectures in 23 countries.
Bickle hopes to introduce an even greater number of students to his field through MSU’s new applied neuroscience minor , which he said is very accessible to students from a variety of fields interested in studying the brain.
For more details about MSU’s College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Philosophy and Religion, visit www.cas.msstate.edu and www.philosophyandreligion.msstate.edu .
Mississippi State University is taking care of what matters. Learn more at www.msstate.edu .