The US National Academies (NAS) began a series of workshops last year to determine a roadmap for US science policy for the next 75 years. One of the workshops focused on US research universities. I sat in on the Workshop online, taking notes for a news article.
The next 75 years—this task is immense. I narrowed the topic to a materials science angle for the MRS Bulletin readership.
It’s still massive.
When thinking about who to interview from the materials research community, I realized the speakers at the workshop were predominantly over 60 (maybe some as young as 50). In determining the shaping of research universities and their policies, I thought it would be good to follow up with researchers at a wider spectrum of career stages.
Along with interviewing students and early-career researchers, I contacted older materials researchers who have served on science panels or have done other work related to the topics covered in the NAS workshop. In all, I interviewed 10 researchers, from undergrads to those who have retired.
As the NAS workshop took place during the 1st wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, this global health emergency cast light on the direction research universities should take in the future, including further development of technology that would enable laboratory research from off-site.
In my notes from both the workshop and the interviews, I had information on:
- NAS workshop discussions
- effects of COVID-19 on university researchers
- diversity & inclusion of the future workforce
- diversity & inclusion of the population affected by research conducted at the US universities
I broke down the content by high-level topics:
- wake-up call based on the pandemic
- risks for materials research
- going forward
From the interviews, one statement kept overriding all the others. It’s the statement that most got my attention. In the structure of the article, I was unhappy that it would be buried deep inside.
Then I decided to take a risk. I realized if this statement held my attention the most, I should open the article with it, and see where it leads:
“I remember first hearing this term ‘digital divide’ in the mid-1990s. It was the concept of people from lower socioeconomic status not having access to computers and the Internet,” says Tabbetha Dobbins, the Interim Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School at Rowan University in New Jersey, in an interview with MRS Bulletin. “It has always been talked about in a scope of, well, there will be jobs available to people who have these computer skills; and people who don't, won't be seeing those jobs.”
Dobbins recently participated in a webinar training K–12 teachers on diversity, equity, and inclusion where she learned that some students have trouble transitioning to online learning during the pandemic because their families cannot afford a computer and access to the Internet. They are, therefore, locked out of an education. “[The Internet] is at least a $70–$80 bill per month and some families simply can't sustain that,” she says. Looking toward US research universities of the 21st century, Dobbins says, “By taking our eye off of that ball 25 years ago and not fixing the problem, how far have we disadvantaged students into pursuing computational materials studies who come from low socioeconomic grounds?”
–from The COVID-19 pandemic informs future directions of US research universities
What do you think? Does that thought capture your attention?
-Judy Meiksin