Nancy Cartwright, distinguished professor of philosophy at the University of California, San Diego, has won the 2026 Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Humanities.
Bestowed by the Spain-based BBVA Foundation, the Frontiers of Knowledge Awards are presented annually in several categories to recognize excellence in research and cultural creation. Dr. Cartwright is the only woman in academia among this year’s cohort of award-winners and the sole awardee in the humanities category.
Dr. Cartwright was awarded for her contributions to the philosophy of science in practice, which have reshaped the scholarly understanding of scientific evidence, causality, and objectivity. Her work argues that complex problems often require multiple models, methods, and forms of expertise — an approach with wide influence across physics, the social sciences, and public policy. Throughout her career, Dr. Cartwright has authored or edited 17 books. Her latest work, Casual Processes and Their Warrant (Cambridge University Press, 2026), introduces a new method for evaluating whether change=making efforts were fruitful, or whether they will be in the future.
In addition to her role at UC San Diego, Dr. Cartwright is a professor of philosophy and co-director of the Centre for Humanities Engaging Science and Society at Durham University in England. She is also a Centenary Visiting Professor of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the University of Oxford in England and a research associate at the Institute for the Future of Knowledge at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa.
Dr. Cartwright received her bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania and her Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Illinois.