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'''Sahotra Sarkar''' (born 1962) is an Indian-American professor at the [[University of Texas at Austin]].
[[File:Sahotra Sarkar.jpg|thumb]]
==Work==
Sarkar is one of the founders of systematic conservation planning within [[conservation biology]],<ref>[[Tim Caro|Caro, T.]] 2010. Conservation by Proxy: Indicator, Umbrella, Keystone, Flagship, and Other Surrogate Species. 2nd Edition. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.</ref> promoting the use of multi-criteria decision analysis and supervising the creation of the ConsNet decision support system.<ref>Moilanen, A., Wilson, K. A., and Possingham, H. Eds. 2009. Spatial Conservation Prioritization. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.</ref> In this context he has advocated participatory environmental planning and strongly criticized the imposition of authoritarian and discriminatory environmental policies on local residents.<ref>Callicott, J. B. and Nelson, M. P. Eds. 2008. The Wilderness Debate Rages On: Continuing the Great New Wilderness Debate.Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press.</ref> His laboratory also works on a suite of neglected tropical diseases (or [[diseases of poverty]]) including [[Chagas disease]],<ref>Sarkar, S., Strutz, S., Frank, D. M., Rivaldi, C. –L., Sissel, B., and Sánchez-Cordero, V. 2010. Chagas Disease Risk in Texas. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 4 (10): e836. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0000836.</ref> [[Dengue fever|dengue]],<ref>Gardner, L., Fajardo, D., Waller, S. T., Wang, O., and Sarkar, S. 2012. A Predictive Spatial Model to Quantify the Risk of Air-Travel-Associated Dengue Importation into the United States and Europe. Journal of Tropical Medicine 2012: Article ID 103679. DOI: 10.1155/2012/103679.</ref> [[leishmaniasis]],<ref>González, C., Wang, O., Strutz, S., González-Salazar, C., Sánchez-Cordero, V., and Sarkar, S. 2010. Climate Change and Risk of Leishmaniasis in North America: Predictions from Ecological Niche Models of Vector and Reservoir Species. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 4 (1): e585. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0000585.</ref> and tick-borne diseases.<ref>Illoldi-Rangel, P. Rivaldi, C. –L., Sissel, B., Fryxell, R. T., Gordillo-Pérez, G., Rodríguez-Moreno, A., Williamson, P., Montiel-Parra, G., Sánchez-Cordero, V., and Sarkar, S. 2012. ''Species Distribution Models and Ecological Suitability Analysis for Potential Tick Vectors of Lyme Disease in México.'' Journal of Tropical Medicine 2012: Article ID 959101. DOI: 10.1155/2012/959101.</ref><ref>Atkinson, S. F., Sarkar, S., Aviña, A., Schuermann, J. A. and Williamson, P. 2012. Modeling Spatial Concordance between Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Disease Incidence and Habitat Probability of Its Vector Dermacentor variabilis (American DogTick). Geospatial Health 7: 91 -100.</ref>

In the philosophy of biology, Sarkar is known for his work on [[reductionism]]<ref>Sarkar, S. 1998. Genetics and Reductionism. New York: Cambridge University Press.</ref> and criticism of hereditarian thinking in biology<ref>Tabery, J. 2014. Beyond Versus: The Struggle to Understand the Interaction of Nature and Nurture. New York: Cambridge University Press.</ref> as well as the use of informational concepts in [[molecular biology]].<ref>Sarkar, S. 1996. Biological Information: A Skeptical Look at Some Central Dogmas of Molecular Biology. In Sarkar, S., Ed. The Philosophy and History of Molecular Biology: New Perspectives. Dordrecht: Kluwer, pp. 187 -231.</ref> In the philosophy of physics Sarkar is known for controversially defending the conventionalism of simultaneity in special relativity (with John Stachel)<ref>Sarkar, S. and Stachel, J. 1999. ''Did Malament Prove the Non-Conventionality of Simultaneity in the Special Theory of Relativity?'' Philosophy of Science 66: 208 -220.</ref> and suggesting a stochastic modification of [[quantum dynamics]].<ref>Sarkar, S. 1997. The Itô Formalism and Stochastic Modifications of Quantum Dynamics. In Cohen, R. S., Horne, M. and Stachel, J. Eds. Experimental Metaphysics: Quantum Mechanical Studies in Honor of Abner Shimony. Dordrecht: Kluwer, pp. 157 -169.</ref> Earlier in his career he worked in mathematical population genetics where, in collaboration with Wing Ma and Guido Sandri, he was responsible for the standard recursion relation to compute the [[Luria–Delbrück experiment|Luria–Delbrück]] distribution in bacterial genetics.<ref>Ma, W. T., Sandri, G. v., and Sarkar, S. 1992. Analysis of the Luria-Delbrück Distribution Using Discrete Convolution Powers. Journal of Applied Probability 29: 255 -267.</ref><ref>Sarkar, S., Ma, W. T., and Sandri, G. v. 1992. On Fluctuation Analysis: A New, Simple and Efficient Method for Computing the Expected Number of Mutants. Genetica 85: 173 -179.</ref>

Sarkar is also a noted critic of [[creationism]] and [[intelligent design]]<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?articleId=12282 | title=Fine-Tuned Deception: Say hello to the new stealth creationism. | publisher=[[The American Prospect]] | date=December 7, 2006 | access-date=2008-10-10 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090705022920/http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?articleId=12282 | archive-date=July 5, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.jewcy.com/post/intelligent_design_creationism_immoral_fraud# | title="Intelligent Design" Creationism Is An Immoral Fraud | publisher=[[Jewcy]] |date=April 18, 2008 | accessdate =2008-10-10 }}</ref> and played an important role in combating attempts to introduce creationism into high school curricula in [[Texas]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6033188.html| title=Group urges no politics, religion in science curriculum | publisher=[[Houston Chronicle]] |date=Sep 30, 2008 | accessdate =2008-10-10 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/AASB/lib00060,0F1BAAA7D221247F.html | title=Compiled by Jeremy Egner | publisher=[[Austin American-Statesman]] |date=Feb 15, 2002 | accessdate =2008-10-10 }}</ref>

Sarkar is originally from India where he lived in [[Darjeeling]] until 1975.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.phil.unt.edu/talks/sarkar.htm | title=Lecture by Sahotra Sarkar | publisher=[[University of North Texas]] | date=September 18, 2002 | access-date=2008-10-10 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516095751/http://www.phil.unt.edu/talks/sarkar.htm | archive-date=May 16, 2008 }}</ref> He earned a BA from [[Columbia University]], and a MA and PhD from the [[University of Chicago]]. He was a Fellow of the [[Berlin Institute for Advanced Study|Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin]] (1996–1997), the [[Dibner Institute for the History of Science and Technology]] (1993–1994), and the Edelstein Centre for the Philosophy of Science (1992). He was a Visiting Scholar at the [[Max Planck Institute for the History of Science]] in Berlin (1997–1998, 2002–2003) and taught at [[Montreal]]'s [[McGill University]] before moving to Texas.

==Allegations of sexual misconduct==
In 2017, Sahotra Sarkar was suspended for a semester after multiple allegations of sexual misconduct with students. Although he denied some of the allegations, he admitted to discussing the possibility of one student posing for nude photographs for money.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.statesman.com/news/20180819/at-ut-an-inappropriate-relationship-alters-futures-raises-questions |title=At UT, an inappropriate relationship alters futures, raises questions |last=Haurwitz |first=Ralph |access-date=September 30, 2018 |df=dmy}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chronicle.com/article/How-a-Department-Took-On-the/245050 |title=How a Department Took On the Next Frontier in the #MeToo Movement |last=Ellis |first=Lindsey |access-date=Nov 12, 2018 |df=dmy}}</ref> In November 2019, a group of students interrupted a class Sarkar was teaching in order to protest his continued presence at the university.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bell |first1=Jeff |title=UT students interrupt class of professor who violated sexual misconduct policies |url=https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/ut-sexual-misconduct-students-interrupt-class-of-sahotra-sarkar/269-cbbd507a-256a-4f4a-8374-02d6f43b5209 |website=KVUE |accessdate=22 November 2019}}</ref> Calling his behaviour "repulsive, predatory and wildly inappropriate", the protesters hoped to draw attention to the University of Texas' broader policy of allowing professors found guilty of sexual misconduct to return to teaching duties.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Méndez |first1=Maria |title=UT students interrupt class to confront professor with sexual misconduct history |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2019/11/21/ut-students-continue-calls-for-transparency-about-professors-with-sexual-misconduct-violations/ |website=The Dallas Morning News |date=21 November 2019 |accessdate=22 November 2019}}</ref>

==Books==
* Sahotra Sarkar, ''Genetics and Reductionism (Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Biology)''. Cambridge University Press (October 13, 1998) {{ISBN|0-521-63713-9}}
* Sahotra Sarkar, ''Molecular Models of Life: Philosophical Papers on Molecular Biology (Life and Mind: Philosophical Issues in Biology and Psychology)''. The MIT Press (March 30, 2007) {{ISBN|0-262-69350-X}}
*Sahotra Sarkar, ''Biodiversity and Environmental Philosophy: An Introduction (Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Biology)''. Cambridge University Press (September 19, 2005) {{ISBN|0-521-85132-7}}
*Sahotra Sarkar, ''Doubting Darwin: Creationist Designs on Evolution''. Blackwell (April 20, 2007) {{ISBN|1-4051-5491-8}}
*Sahotra Sarkar, ''Environmental Philosophy: From Theory to Practice''. Wiley-Blackewell (2012)
*Chris Margules and Sahotra Sarkar, ''Systematic Conservation Planning (Ecology, Biodiversity and Conservation)''. Cambridge University Press. (October 8, 2007) {{ISBN|0-521-70344-1}}
*Sahotra Sarkar, Ed., ''Science and Philosophy in the Twentieth Century: Basic Works of Logical Empiricism''. 6 Volumes. Routledge (February 1, 1996)
*Sahotra Sarkar, Ed., ''Logical Empiricism and the Special Sciences : Reichenbach, Feigl, and Nagel (Science and Philosophy in the Twentieth Century: Basic Works of Logical Empiricism)'' Routledge; 1 edition (February 1, 1996) {{ISBN|0-8153-2265-8}}
* Sahotra Sarkar and Jessica Pfeifer, Eds., ''The Philosophy of Science: An Encyclopedia'' Routledge.(December 9, 2005)
* Sahotra Sarkar and Anya Plutynksi, Eds., ''Companion to the Philosophy of Biology (Blackwell Companions to Philosophy)''. Wiley-Blackwell (March 14, 2008) {{ISBN|1-4051-2572-1}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090213055145/http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~philsci/sarkar/main.html Sahotra Sarkar] at [[University of Texas at Austin]]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060905140717/http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/author/default.asp?aid=22824 Sahotra Sarkar] at [[MIT Press]]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarkar, Sahotra}}
[[Category:1962 births]]
[[Category:21st-century American biologists]]
[[Category:American philosophers]]
[[Category:Columbia University alumni]]
[[Category:Critics of creationism]]
[[Category:University of Chicago alumni]]
[[Category:University of Texas at Austin faculty]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Philosophers of science]]
[[Category:Indian emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:People from Darjeeling]]

Sahotra Sarkar - Revision history

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