HENRI CHASTAIN
Personal Profile
Current Undergraduate in Minneapolis, Minnesota area pursuing a Bachelors of Arts in both Economics and Philosophy. Key area of interest is in the Philosophy of Economic Method since Adam Smith, and its relation to Intellectual History. I have had previous research experience in Economics, and Biophysics, and have had previous teaching experience in Computer Science. I was honored in June 2022 with the designation of Undergraduate Fellow at the Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science (MCPS), and facilitate the Undergraduate Group at the MCPS.
Much of my technical work as an undergraduate is primarily computer science based (Python, R) with mathematical applications in Biophysics. Actively pursuing any opportunities that regard the aforementioned interests.
MY INTERESTS
Subjects, Characters, and Questions
Economists are worshiped yet seldom read.
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The history of Economics cannot confine itself to a single form of disciplinary investigation, as the mode of analysis traverses across and between an array of schools of thought, punctuated by intense historical shifts of dominant philosophical movements. The Empiricism of Adam Smith, David Hume, and Ricardo when encountering the Materialism of Karl Marx, forms a conflict in the mode of analysis that has yet to be resolved.
EXPERIENCE
June 2022 - Present
HONORARY UNDERGRADUATE FELLOW.
MINNESOTA CENTER FOR PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE (MCPS)
The Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science (MCPS) recognizes students who are contributing to their intellectual community through their participation in discussion groups. As a select Undergraduate who has participated, the governing board invited me to have the special designation in June of 2022. I hold the designation in the highest regards, and sincerely appreciate everything the MCPS has to offer in the service of furthering important scholarship. Their mission is to provide a space where interrogating the assumptions and evidence behind scientific models and characterizing the diversity of scientific practices advances our understanding of how the sciences work and decipher what kinds of answers they deliver. I attend the Biology Interest Group (BIG) which is organized by Center Director Alan C. Love, who is joined by several current and former Professors from an array of fields, as well as Graduate Students. In the summer of 2022 I attended the Center Discussion Group. In the Fall 2022 semester I participate in the Biology Interest Group, Book Discussion Group, Center Discussion Group, and the Physics Interest Group (PIG).
January 2023 - Present
FACILITATOR AND SPEAKER FOR UNDERGRADUATE DISCUSSION GROUP
The Undergraduate Discussion Group reads and discusses works of mutual interest in the history and philosophy of Economics. It concentrates on creating a conversational space where the next generation of scholars can engage with critical issues.
This Group is for Undergraduates by Undergraduates and is open to all Undergraduates interested in conceptual questions about Economics, regardless of their declared major.
Dr. Alan Love, Director of the MCPS, generously accepted my suggestion to form a group that focuses Philosophy of Economics and Political Economy in August. Dr. Bruce Caldwell, Director of the Duke Center for the History of Political Economy (HOPE) also informed my decisions regarding reading material. The Symposium will read sources primary and secondary regarding Adam Smith, David Ricardo, Karl Marx, John Maynard Keynes, Friedrich Hayek, and other prominent Economists that have influenced the subject of Political Economy, as well as the Philosophical discourse surrounding Economics.
August 2022 - Present
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHER AT UMN
As a part of the Redish Lab team, comprised of Undergraduates, Graduate Students, Post-Docs, and Dr. Redish himself, we explore the computational processes that underlie decision-making. The lab has research interests that span the neurophysiology of behavior, including computational, experimental, theoretical, and clinical approaches. Currently as a Undergraduate Researcher I am assisting my supervisor Dr. Paul Cunningham, a Post-Doctoral Fellow in Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, in a Delayed Discounting Model examining the decision making systems in rats when facing a inter-temporal reward depending on their course of action.
September 2022Â - Present
ECONOMICS UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT BOARD CHAIRPERSON
The goal of this board is to advocate on behalf of students and serve as a liaison between students and the Economics department faculty and staff. Those selected for the Board are students who are excited and passionate about bettering the academic opportunities at the UMN in the Economics Department.
I, as a Chairperson, serve as a liaison between the Economics Student Board and the Departmental Advisors. In doing this task I inform advisors about the progress and problem which arise, am responsible for coordinating the bi-weekly meetings with agenda as requested by the President Kevin Jacobson, and monitor tasks of committee which involves following up with members for plan completion.
September 2020Â - April 2021
SUPPLEMENTAL INSTRUCTOR, TUTOR. AUGSBURG UNIVERSITY
Supplemental Instruction for Introduction to Python course. This course is an introduction to Computer Science, thinking algorithmically and using a structured, high-level programming language (Python) to implement algorithms. Emphasis on how to design, code, debug, and document computer programs to solve problems from a wide range of disciplines and to appreciate the power of computation.
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Outside of designated class time, one-on one tutoring with individuals who have questions on the material discussed in class, as well as how to apply these concepts to future work and occupancy.
September 2020 - April 2021
URGO RESEARCHER.
AUGSBURG UNIVERSITY
URGO provides research opportunities for Augsburg undergraduate students year-round. Student researchers work directly with faculty mentors as they gain important analytic, technical, and writing skills.
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The research project conducted, primarily as literature review, was centered on analyzing the harms of Emerging Infectious Diseases (EIDs), and its relation to Climate Change; As well, it analyzes policies to mitigate the harms of EIDs. I presented my ndings and answered questions during the Zyzzogeton Research Symposium in April 2021
Outside of designated class time, one-on one tutoring with individuals who have questions on the material discussed in class, as well as how to apply these concepts to future work and occupancy.
May 2021 - August 2021
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHER.
AUGSBURG UNIVERSITY /
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTAÂ TWIN CITIES
Through a NASA Research Grant, UMN Twin Cities and Augsburg University were able to facilitate a cross-discipline research eort into Material Science, Computer Science, and Biophysics. My specic research was to use Computer Science applications into creating more accurate analysis of Membrane Domains.
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For results, see https://www.aiche.org/academy/conferences/aiche- annual-meeting/2021/proceeding/paper/319j-cholesterol-induced- morphological-instabilities-and-transitions-phospholipid-monolayers
ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE
My Studies
September 2019 - April 2021
AUGSBURG UNIVERSITY. BACHELORS OF SCIENCE, MATHEMATICAL ECONOMICS
Dean's List Fall Semester 2019 (Semester GPA: 4.0)
Dean's List Spring Semester 2020. (Semester GPA: 4.0)
Dean's List Fall Semester 2020 (Semester GPA: 4.0)
Dean's List Spring Semester 2021 (Semester GPA: 3.89)
Transferred into University of Minnesota Twin CIties
September 2021 - Present
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA TWIN CITIES,
BACHELORS OF ARTS IN ECONOMICS (QUANTITATIVE EMPHASIS), PHILOSOPHY
Current Undergraduate
"The more perfect the science, the shorter its history"
- Jean-Baptiste Say
CONTACT
Feel free to contact me if you have any research opportunities in the aforementioned fields, or if you have any questions regarding my work.
chast061[at]umn[dot]edu
