The paper "Empirical problems for explanationism" by Rune Nyrup has been awarded the first Graduate Student Essay Prize of the European Philosophy of Science Association (EPSA). This prize is aimed at graduate students who had their papers accepted for presentation at the EPSA 2015 conference in Düsseldorf. It is expected to encourage early career scholars to pursue their research, and to highlight the quality and variety of philosophical work on science carried out within European academia. The submissions were blindly examined by the Graduate Student Essay Prize Committee appointed by the EPSA Steering Committee, which included Lilia Gurova, Sabina Leonelli, Bert Leuridan [chair] and David Teira. All the submissions were of high quality and represented different strands of philosophy of science. The decision was therefore difficult to reach, however the paper "Empirical problems for explanationism" was agreed by all committee members to deserve the award given the importance of its subject for philosophy of science, the originality of its claims, its clearly presented argument and its thorough grasp of the relevant literature. Rune Nyrups's paper challenges the existing empirical arguments for the view that good explanations of phenomena provide epistemic support for the underlying hypotheses. The winner will receive 500 EUR and the paper will be taken into consideration for publication in the EJPS.

Congratulations Rune!

• Lukas Bielik (Slovakia). Host institution: Faculty of Philosophy, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
  
• Anna Brozek (Poland). Host institution: Institute Vienna Circle (IVC), University of Vienna, Austria
  
• Richard David-Rus (Romania). Host institution: Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy (MCMP), University of Munich, Germany
  
• Monika Foltyn-Zarychta (Poland). Host institution: Erasmus Institute for Philosophy and Economics (EIPE), University of Rotterdam, The Netherlands
  
• Zalan Gyneis (Hungary). Host institution: Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science (CPNSS), London School of Economics, UK
  
• Daniel Kostic (Serbia). Host institution: Institut d'histoire et de philosophie des sciences et des techniques (IHPST), University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, France
  
• Przemyslaw Nowakowski (Poland). Host institution: TINT Centre of Excellence in the Philosophy of the Social Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland
  
• Akos Sivado (Hungary). Host institution: Düsseldorf Center for Logic and Philosophy of Science (DCLPS), University of Düsseldorf, Germany
  
• Gabriel Tarziu (Romania). Host institution: Centre for Logic and Philosophy of Science, University of Ghent, Belgium
  
• Iulian Toader (Bucharest). Host institution: Descartes Centre, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands
  
• Borut Trpin (Slovenia). Host institution: LOGOS, University of Barecelona, Spain
  
• Elena Trufanova (Russia). Host institution: Institute of Philosophy, University of Hannover, Germany
  
• Özlem Yilmaz (Turkey). Host institution: Egeneis, University of Exeter, UK
  
• Josko Zanic (Croatia). Host institution: Department of Philosophy, University of Bergen, Norway
  

We just released the second newsletter in 2015!

In this issue we ask António Zilhão & Julie Zahle about the situation in Portugal and Denmark for philosophy, especially philosophy of science, Erik Weber takes a closer look for us at the Centre for Logic and Philosophy of Science (CLPS) and american neurobiologist Steven Hyman is the second scientist contributing to our category “Science meets Philosophy”.

The European Journal for Philosophy of Science received its first Impact Factor of 1.195 (Thomson Reuters Journal Citation Reports® 2015) in 2014. More information on the Impact Factor and alternative metrics to measure a journals health can be found on the publisher's website.

The journal's success would not have been possible without continuing commitment. Therefore we would like to thank the entire board of the journal, the steering committee, the reviewers and everyone who contributed to the journal.

The European Philosophy of Science Association (EPSA) announces 14 EPSA Fellowships for junior philosophers working in Central and Eastern Europe to visit a leading research institution in Western Europe. The fellowship covers travel, accommodation and living expenses for approximately one month (details below) in the academic year 2015/16. During their visit, successful candidates will be members of the host institution and take part in its research activities. In alphabetic order, the participating institutions are:

• Academy of Finland Centre of Excellence in the Philosophy of the Social Sciences (TINT), University of Helsinki, Finland
  
• Centre for Logic and Philosophy of Science, Ghent University, Belgium
  
• Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science (CPNSS), London School of Economics, U.K.
  
• Department of Philosophy, University of Bergen, Norway
  
• Descartes Centre for the History and Philosophy of the Sciences and the Humanities, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands
  
• Duesseldorf Center for Logic and Philosophy of Science (DCLPS), Germany
  
• Egenis - the Centre for the Study of Life Sciences, University of Exeter, U.K.
  
• Erasmus Institute for Philosophy and Economics (EIPE), Faculty of Philosophy, Erasmus University of Rotterdam
• Faculty of Philosophy, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
  
• Institute for History and Philosophy of Science and Techniques (IHPST), University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, France
  
• Institute of Philosophy, University of Hannover, Germany
  
• Institute Vienna Circle, University of Vienna, Austria
  
• LOGOS Group and Department of Logic, History and Philosophy of Science, University of Barcelona, Spain
  
• Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy (MCMP), LMU Munich, Germany
  

To apply send the following to epsa@lrz.uni-muenchen.de by 15 July 2015:

1. CV
   
2. A list indicating which of the above-mentioned centres you would like visit and why (you can list a maximum of three institutions and should indicate a preference ranking).
   
3. A letter of motivation detailing your interest in the scheme (maximum of approximately 400 words)
   
4. A research proposal for the time of the visit (approximately 2000 words).
   

Application must be made in English. The above should be merged into one PDF file in the order listed. Results will be announced in early August 2015.

The fine print:

• Applicants need not be members of EPSA at the time of applying. However, successful candidates are expected to become EPSA members before taking up their fellowships (they will be offered the opportunity to do so at a reduced rate).
  
• Successful candidates will be put in touch with their future host institution and the details of the visit (exact dates, financial and accommodation arrangements, visa sponsorship, etc.) should be agreed directly been the candidates and their hosts (without involvement of EPSA). Local circumstances vary and no general commitments about levels of funding can be made.
  
• Visits are approximately 1 month. For visits to Ghent the following conditions apply: the candidate must have obtained his/her PhD more than 2 years prior to the beginning of the visit. The visit to Ghent is at least one month, but the Centre offers the possibility of spending up to three months in Ghent if the applicant and the host institution consider that fruitful.
  

You can now register for EPSA15 on the registration page. For more details about the conference, please visit the EPSA15 section of the website!

We just released the first newsletter in 2015!

In this issue we ask Claus Beisbart & László Szabó about the situation in Switzerland and Hungary for philosophy, especially philosophy of science, Paul Egré takes a closer look for us at the Institut Jean-Nicod and dutch astronomer Edward van Heuvel is the first scientist contributing to our new category “Science meets Philosophy”.

The European Philosophy of Science Association (EPSA) calls for proposals for the venue of EPSA17, its sixth conference, to be held in the autumn of 2017. The biennial conference is the main scientific event of EPSA, typically attracting 300-400 philosophers of science from across the world. It usually comprises 180 contributed and symposia talks, organized in as many as eight different sections, and taking place in five or six parallel sessions. A selection of the best talks is published as a volume in the new Springer series European Studies in Philosophy of Science (EJPS).

The conference is typically hosted by a philosophy of science unit, and its venue must be a recognized European academic or research institution. The event takes place in the autumn over a period of 3-4 days (which must include a Saturday) in alternating years to the conferences of the Philosophy of Science Association (PSA). Past conferences have taken place at Madrid (2007), Amsterdam (2009), Athens (2011), and Helsinki (2013). EPSA15 will take place in Düsseldorf, Germany. 

A Local Organizing Committee (LOC, typically comprising 5-6 people) is set up at the host institution – with a remit to organize the event itself. About one year in advance the Steering Committee (SC) of EPSA puts out a call for papers and selects a Program Committee (PC) comprising distinguished philosophers of science. The LOC, SC and PC are non-overlapping sets of people, with the exception of the Chairs of the LOC and PC, who may be drawn from the SC. The Chairs of the LOC and PC are also expected to act as joint editors of the conference volume.

Proposals (one PDF document) must be submitted to the President of the Association (Prof. Stephan Hartmann, email: epsa@lrz.uni-muenchen.de) by August 15, 2015 and must include the following:

1. The name of the organizing unit or research institution.
2. The name of the academic or research institute hosting the event.
3. The proposed dates in the autumn of 2015 (expected to be a long weekend from end of August to end of November of 2017).
4. The names of the members of the LOC, including Chair(s) and/or Deputy. Please note that the members of the LOC have to be EPSA members.
5. The CV of the Chair or the Chairs of the LOC.
6. An estimated budget proposal, including rough estimates for the following expenses: a) building and facilities, b) catering, c) conference registration packs (x 200 delegates minimum), d) personnel, e) expected finical contribution by the host institution and/or a funding agency.
   

EPSA launches a new book series: the European Studies in Philosophy of Science (ESPS). For more information, click here.

If you become a new EPSA member before December 31, 2014, then your membership fee will be considerably reduced. These reduced fees also apply if you renew your EPSA membership beforce December 31, 2014. For details, click here.