Contributor: Jerry Ravetz

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Jerome Raymond Ravetz received his Ph.D. in mathematics from Trinity College in Cambridge, UK, but soon changed his field to the History & Philosophy of Science, which he taught at Leeds University for many years.

He was co-founder of the Council for Science and Society, serving as its Executive Secretary (1973-76), and served on the Genetic Manipulation Advisory Group as a representative of the public interest from 1977-1978.

His published works include: Scientific Knowledge and its Social Problems (Oxford U.P. 1971; Penguin; German and Japanese translations; reprint Transaction Publishers, 1996); The Merger of Knowledge with Power (Cassell 1990); (with S.O. Funtowicz) Uncertainty and Quality in Science for Policy (Kluwer 1990); and (co-edited with Zia Sardar) Cyberfutures (Pluto and N.Y.U. 1997) and Introducing Mathematics (Icon 1998). Dr. Ravetz is now an independent scholar and self-employed consultant, working mainly on problems of the management of uncertainty in risks and environmental issues. He currently has a position as Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the James Martin Institute for Science and Civilization at the University of Oxford.

With Silvio Funtowicz, he developed a notational system, NUSAP, for the representation of uncertainty in quantitative information. He also developed the concept of Post-Normal Science.

E-mail: Jerry Ravetz