Paco Calvo is Professor of Philosophy of Science and PI of the Minimal Intelligence Laboratory (MINTLab) at the University of Murcia (Spain). He does research in (the philosophy of) plant neurobiology, ecological psychology and embodied cognitive science.
Prof. Calvo is currently being supported by the US Office of Naval Research to investigate vegetable sources of bioinspiration for Robotics and AI. He studies the ecological basis of plant intelligence by conducting experimental studies at the intersection of the areas of plant neurobiology and ecological psychology. His lab uses time-lapse photography to observe the navigational capacities of plant shoots, and to critically explore the theoretical underpinnings of cognitivist interpretations of plants’ adaptive behavior. His articles have appeared in Annals of Botany, Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, Biology & Philosophy, Frontiers in Neurorobotics, Frontiers in Robotics and AI, Journal of the Royal Society, Plant, Cell & Environment, Plant Signaling & Behavior and Trends in Plant Science, among other journals.
His most recent book, Planta Sapiens is out now with Little, Brown & Co. (UK) and with W.W. Norton (US).