The Gwen Nettlefold Memorial Fellowship supports an academic in the School of Humanities undertaking research to complete a high-quality, peer-reviewed publication.
Who was Gwen Nettlefold?
Dr Gwen Nettlefold was born in Hobart, Tasmania, in 1961 and educated at Waimea Heights Primary School and Fahan School. She trained as a nurse and as a naturopath. Dr Nettlefold completed a Bachelor of Communications before embarking on her doctorate in Philosophy at the University of Tasmania. Her ability as a philosopher rapidly became apparent and she made a significant contribution to the University as a member of staff, a colleague and undergraduate tutor. Her doctoral thesis was virtually complete when a brain aneurysm tragically ended her life in November 2001.This Fellowship was made possible as a result of gifts from the family, friends and colleagues of the late Gwen Nettlefold alongside a contribution from the University of Tasmania.
The Inaugural Fellow – Associate Professor Frederic Gilbert
Associate Professor Frederic Gilbert focuses on bio-ethics. He is an expert in neuro-ethics and is not a scientist, but a philosopher. By monitoring patients with brain devices, Associate Professor Gilbert grapples with the ethical questions posed by invasive brain technologies. His research informs the debates that guide policy regulation, especially in regard to human clinical and experimental trials.
Associate Professor Gilbert's Project
The Gwen Nettlefold Memorial Fellowship will enable Associate Professor Gilbert to consolidate further his work on the uncharted risks raised by brain-computer interfaces to the notion of Freedom of Thought. Specifically, it will support his research on the ethics of novel neural devices and the phenomenology of AI neurotechnologies.
