Getting a Grip

I’ve studied the practices of scientists, both through historical research and, for the last 12 years, by studying research laboratories in the bioengineering sciences. I want to explore what the practices of scientists engaged in biosystem simulation modeling can tell us about explanation, understanding, and control. In the past, I have looked at conceptual models. Now I look at physical simulation models, that is models made out of living tissues and engineered parts in order to do simulations of phenomena that scientists can’t have any access to physically either because they can’t get the control that they need to do experiments or because ethically you couldn’t do those kinds of things, to even animals. In addition, I’m studying the computational modeling practices of systems biologists. Through the study of these scientists’ modeling practices we can come to see the importance of understanding, as opposed to explanation, in science.