The COVID-19 pandemic informs future directions of US research universities
- PDF / 1,717,031 Bytes
- 7 Pages / 585 x 783 pts Page_size
- 71 Downloads / 147 Views
The COVID-19 pandemic informs future directions of US research universities
“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?” “I think that every department should take an assessment of whether their students have access to the resources they need in order to go back offline again. And if they know three or four students in a materials science department, for example, who might fall into that category, to try to come up with solutions,” Dobbins told MRS Bulletin.
3D print of a spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19—in front of a 3D print of a SARS-CoV-2 virus particle. The spike protein (foreground) enables the virus to enter and infect human cells. On the virus model, the virus surface (blue) is covered with the spike proteins (red). For more information, visit the NIH 3D Print Exchange at 3dprint.nih.gov. Credit: NIH.
On the 75th anniversary of Vannevar Bush’s report that shaped science policy in the United States, the US National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is exploring systemic changes that need to be made to set science policy for the next 75 years. NAS began the discussion at a Symposium held in February 2020 (MRS Bulletin doi:10.1557/mrs.2020.154). At a subsequent Workshop, held in July, NAS has focused on US research universities. The onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic, says Marcia McNutt, president of NAS, has illuminated the strengths of universities to change their processes overnight “and also illuminated challenges our universities face.” The Workshop, titled “Reopening US Research Universities: Confronting Long-Standing Challenges and Imagining Novel Solutions,” has brought together academics and representatives from scientific and government organizations to envision a paradigm shift in research universities. It was hosted by the Committee on Science, Engineering, Medicine and Public Policy (COSEMPUP)
Data Loading...
