Research Funding

Research in ontology, data and artificial intelligence is a defining strength of philosophy at UB. Projects in this area apply philosophical rigor to real-world systems, from aging and health to cybersecurity, defense and large-scale data infrastructure. External funding in this area supports work that bridges theory and practice in high-impact settings.

Selected awards include:

• National Institute on Aging (2024): Supporting philosophically informed ontology related to the psychological study of aging
• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (2023): Infrastructure data taxonomy and ontology-based revision strategies
• Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (2022–2023): Ontology bootcamps for federal analysts
• Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (2022): Ontology training initiatives
• MIT Lincoln Laboratory (2020–2021): Ontologies for collaborative behavior supporting advanced aviation systems
• CUBRC (2020–2021): Ontologies of cyber vulnerabilities supporting Navy systems engineering
• Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, Department of Defense (2020): Ontology support for joint logistics

Philosophy at UB plays a key role in federally funded health and biomedical research through expertise in ontology, informatics and conceptual modeling. These projects support collaboration with scientists, clinicians and health researchers and contribute to national efforts in translational science, data sharing and biomedical discovery.

Selected awards include:

• NIH and NCATS (2015–2025): Buffalo Clinical and Translational Research Center
• NIH National Cancer Institute (2015–2020): Digital pathology image informatics platforms
• NIH National Institute of General Medical Sciences (2015–2020): Protein Ontology development
• NIH and NIAID (2005–2017): National Center for Biomedical Ontology and immune informatics initiatives
• BRIGHT Education Program (2017–2022): Training postdoctoral scholars and PhD students in biomedical informatics

Faculty research in philosophy, politics and economics and related social domains examines how people reason, make decisions and engage with political and social systems. External funding in this area supports interdisciplinary work on judgment, autonomy, belief and public reasoning with relevance to policy, ethics and civic life.

Selected awards include:

• John Templeton Foundation (2024): Supporting research capacity in philosophy, politics and economics
• John Templeton Foundation (2020–2023): Study of intellectual autonomy and the psychology of reasoning and decision-making
• John Templeton Foundation (2009–2010): Psychology of religious belief through the Cognition, Religion and Theology Project

Applied philosophy at UB has a long history of engagement with defense, intelligence and national security organizations. Funded projects in this area focus on analytic rigor, decision-making systems and the conceptual foundations that support intelligence analysis, mission planning and complex operational environments.

Selected awards include:

• Air Force Office of Scientific Research (2018–2022): Semantic models for space event characterization
• US Army C5ISR Center (2019–2020): Cognition data frameworks for intelligence analysis
• Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Fellowships (2018–2023): Referent tracking and analytic rigor
• Naval Postgraduate School (2018–2019): Ontology-driven analytic workflow automation
• Department of Defense (2008–2009): Command and control and biometrics ontologies

Beyond applied projects, philosophy faculty at UB also receive sustained support for foundational and interdisciplinary research. These awards reflect long-term investment in philosophical work that connects with science, environment, policy and society and that supports graduate training and cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Selected awards include:

• National Science Foundation (1995–2016): Ontology, geography and interdisciplinary graduate training
• Volkswagen Foundation (2004–2008): Philosophical foundations of biomedical ontology
• SUNY Network of Excellence (2014–2015): Communication and socio-ecological systems

In addition to the awards listed above, UB philosophy faculty have received individual grants from organizations such as the National Humanities Center and internal support from the Humanities Institute and the Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy.

External funding strengthens the department’s ability to:

• Support graduate students and postdoctoral scholars
• Build long-term research infrastructure
• Collaborate across disciplines and sectors
• Translate philosophical research into real-world impact

Learn how funded research shapes opportunities in philosophy at UB.