Who Should Apply?

The expertise represented by these colleagues will likely include science (e.g., astronomy, biology, chemistry, environmental science, geology, physics); social science (e.g., anthropology, archaeology, geography, environmental science); and humanities (e.g., art history, history). These fields, and others, are present at many liberal arts colleges, and they figure importantly in the kinds of research SI instructors undertake.

SI participants might include college science professors who would incorporate a materials engineering/material culture module as one component of a science class they teach currently. After participating in the SI experience, other professors might invite one or several colleagues to design and co-teach a new subject that integrates their collective science/social science/humanities backgrounds through the materials/material culture design mechanism.

The Summer Institutes may stimulate inter-institutional collaborations, for example among faculty at the Five College Consortium (Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Smith), that would take advantage of breadth of coverage and reach a wide spectrum of students.

The broad aim of the MIT Summer Institute in Materials Science and Material Culture is to promote infrastructure at liberal arts institutions that will affect dramatically the educational experience of undergraduate students by stimulating teaching that links science, engineering, social science, and humanities. We hope to accomplish this broad aim by providing a template for such experience.

We welcome applications from faculty members who recognize how equipping their students' intellectual toolkit with the tools and the approach represented by the SIMSMC will enhance those students' access to and contribution to the social wealth.