Christopher Clark
A conceptual divide has wedged itself
between academia and the rest of society.
The average citizen is often unaware and
uncaring of the problems tackled by university
researchers, and these researchers often
care little about impacting society outside
of their "ivory
tower." Based on my experience in NSC
110 (Dean's Scholars Seminar) and our exploration
of Intellectual Entrepreneurship, I have
come to believe that academia has disconnected
itself from the rest of society primarily
because of the pressure to hyper-specialize.
A traditional disdain for generalists, and
tenure granting procedures that undervalue
group effort, have trained university researchers
to work alone and stay within their narrow
and arcane specialties.
Solitary research has long been a scientific mainstay, but in the modern world it is losing utility. Problems in nanoscale biology involve quantum effects, innovations in computer circuitry leverage the chemistry of the rare elements, and neural networking principles apply to both the organic brain and computational intelligence. To conduct the research of tomorrow, a modern scientist must collaborate with experts from various specialties, and have the cross-disciplinary understanding to make such collaboration successful. Such skills are not fostered in the current academic climate of solitary specialization.
Just as the academic climate must evolve to embrace the needs of modern research, I believe that the modern student should evolve as well. Based on insight gained from the IE philosophy, I have altered my course plans to allow a wider range of interdisciplinary science courses. In the past, expanding a narrow and focused science degree to include a broad complement of interdisciplinary courses would have been a difficult undertaking. However, as research has become increasingly cross-disciplinary, so too have undergraduate degrees. This year the College of Natural Sciences created a degree plan for its Dean's Scholars Honors Program that allows unprecedented flexibility and fosters a well rounded science education. Over one-quarter of the degree consists of science electives outside the chosen major field, allowing students to sample different courses and gain a cross-disciplinary understanding. When coupled with a philosophy like Intellectual Entrepreneurship, degrees of this flexibility allow ambitious students to gather the skills necessary to conduct modern, interdisciplinary, research.
Contemplating the IE philosophy has shown me the changing nature of the academic world and how it will continue to change. By providing insight into the skills necessary to conduct research in these rapidly changing times, I am better prepared for my role as an innovator and knowledge-seeker.