Message from Chancellor Fox: One of UC San Diego’s greatest institutional strengths is the breadth and depth of faculty research on a range of important topics. Each month, Chancellor’s Corner will showcase cross-disciplinary faculty expertise in a specific area. I invite you to learn more about the work of these scholars, and I hope you share my pride in their achievements and their contributions to society.

Happiness

Craig Callender
Craig Callender is a professor of Philosophy who joined the UC San Diego faculty in 2001. His main areas of research are the philosophy of science, philosophy of physics and metaphysics. He’s also taught a philosophical methods seminar on happiness; the course used ancient and modern philosophy, contemporary ethics and contemporary science to explore questions such as: What makes a person happy? What is it for a person to live a good life? Is happiness simply a mental state? The course also teaches philosophy majors how to understand, write and present philosophical arguments. More…

Nicholas Christenfeld
Nicholas Christenfeld is a professor of Psychology. His areas of research include social psychology and communication, and he’s taught a course on the psychology of happiness. The discussions and readings explored questions such as: What is happiness? How do we measure it, and how do we tell who has it? What is the biology of happiness and what is its evolutionary significance? What makes people happy—youth, fortune, marriage, chocolate? Is the pursuit of happiness pointless? More…

James Fowler
James Fowler is an associate professor in the Political Science Department and the Center for Wireless and Population Health Systems at Calit2. His work lies at the intersection of the natural and social sciences. His current interests include social networks, behavioral economics, evolutionary game theory, political participation, cooperation and genopolitics, the study of the genetic basis of political behavior. More…

David A. Schkade
David Schkade is an associate dean, Jerome Katzin Endowed Chair and professor of Management and Strategy at the Rady School of Management. He joined UC San Diego in 2004. His primary research focus is on the psychology of judgment and decision making, and how decision making can be improved. His publication topics include the pursuit of happiness, and wealth and happiness. More…

Piotr Winkielman
Piotr Winkielman is a professor of Psychology. His main interest is the interplay between emotion, cognition, embodiment and consciousness, particularly in the domain of social cognition. One of his studies, recently published in the journal of Psychological Science, looked at how our thoughts can affect our perception of other people’s emotions. More…

** To learn more about other campus faculty scholars and areas of expertise, please visit the searchable UC San Diego Faculty Experts Database at: http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/facultyExperts/