{"677101":{"#nid":"677101","#data":{"type":"news","title":"\u2018Humanizing STEM\u0027: Event Highlights Crucial Role of Liberal Arts in Today\u2019s World ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAre empathy and ethics as crucial as algorithms and equations? At the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts\u2019 \u003Cem\u003EHumanizing STEM\u003C\/em\u003E event on Sept. 20, scholars and practitioners across disciplines answered with a resounding yes, presenting compelling arguments on how the humanities enrich STEM fields and lead to more thoughtful and inclusive innovation.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf you\u0027ve recently seen \u003Cem\u003EOppenheimer\u003C\/em\u003E or paid attention to some of the discussions around that, you know that it\u2019s still true that the liberal arts provide the foundation for the adaptability necessary to succeed in our society and are essential to our mission of developing leaders who advance technology to improve the human condition,\u201d said Paul Kohn, Georgia Tech\u2019s vice provost for enrollment management.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs \u003Cem\u003EUniversity Business\u003C\/em\u003E \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/universitybusiness.com\/why-these-leaders-want-to-secure-the-liberal-arts-in-a-digital-world\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Erecently noted\u003C\/a\u003E, the Ivan Allen College and Georgia Tech have taken a national leadership role in stressing the value of integrating humanities, social sciences, and STEM disciplines in research and teaching, and in pairing that talk with action. Faculty and students from the College are working with their STEM colleagues on projects related to art, artificial intelligence, computing, engineering, and more.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEfforts such as the recent \u003Cem\u003EHumanizing STEM \u003C\/em\u003Esymposium, attended by university officials from across the country, seek to continue that discussion, said Interim Dean Richard Utz.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022This event marks a crucial step in our mission to show the world how Georgia Tech is leading in integrating the liberal arts with STEM. These conversations show how we can drive meaningful, human-centered technological advancements across disciplines,\u201d Utz said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThroughout the day, speakers emphasized the importance of human-centered approach in STEM education and innovation.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor instance, former Atlanta Regional Commission head Douglas Hooker, ME 1978, MS TSP 1985, said a public policy curriculum teaches students how to evaluate technological innovation in ways that spark positive change.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cPublic policy is a tool we should be employing more frequently, with more authenticity and more honesty,\u201d he said. \u201cFrom the micro to the macro, public policy compels us to place humans at the center of all of our STEM considerations.\u0022\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHooker\u2019s call for authenticity in policymaking aligned with the broader message of the event \u2014 that STEM professionals must consider the social and ethical impacts of their work to create meaningful change.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPaula Tkac, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, talked about how economics can drive innovation in STEM fields.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cEconomics is a toolkit for anything you want to do. It can help you figure out how to take the effort and passion you\u0027re throwing into the things you want to do and show you how you can scale and turn ideas into action, problem-solving into real change,\u201d Tkac said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnd Tina Lu, first vice president of the Modern Language Association, discussed her research bridging Chinese technological history and language, and the importance of language education to global innovation.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWithout meeting people in other languages, there\u0027s no connecting with people where they are,\u201d Lu said. That means connections not just through space, but also connections through time. What are languages? It\u0027s listening, it\u0027s understanding, it\u0027s bringing people together.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOther speakers included Linda Adler-Kassner, associate vice chancellor of teaching and learning at the University of California, Santa Barbara; Paige Alexander, chief executive officer at The Carter Center; Jim Grossman, executive director of the American Historical Association, and Gen. Philip Breedlove, distinguished professor of the practice in Georgia Tech\u2019s Sam Nunn School of International Affairs.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKelly Ritter, chair of the School of Literature, Media, and Communication was one of seven IAC respondents during the event. She spoke about how the School contributes to the College\u2019s interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary efforts, noting LMC has faculty from traditional literature and writing backgrounds but also from computer science, engineering, architecture, visual arts, history, psychology, philosophy, and others.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOne of the things we aim to address is how the humanities can inform, improve, and advance principles of critical systems,\u201d Ritter said.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Sept. 20 event was the kickoff for a year-long series of events at Georgia Tech celebrating \u201cThe Year of the Liberal Arts.\u201d Upcoming events include a discussion on the future of war, a conference on public policy and child well-being, poetry readings, and more.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor more information, visit the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/liberalartsyear.iac.gatech.edu\/humanizing-stem-2024\/\u0022 rel=\u0022noreferrer noopener\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EYear of the Liberal Arts\u003C\/a\u003E website.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELearn more about the 2024 Humanizing STEM symposium.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Learn more about the 2024 Humanizing STEM symposium."}],"uid":"34600","created_gmt":"2024-09-25 18:41:35","changed_gmt":"2024-09-25 18:58:43","author":"mpearson34","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2024-09-25T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2024-09-25T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"675111":{"id":"675111","type":"image","title":"utz humanizing stem c.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003ERichard Utz, interim dean of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, delivers introductory remarks during the Humanizing STEM 2024 event, held Sept. 20, 2024 at the Historic Academy of Medicine.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1727289709","gmt_created":"2024-09-25 18:41:49","changed":"1727289709","gmt_changed":"2024-09-25 18:41:49","alt":"A man in a suit holding a microphone against a blue background displaying a digitized globe and human figure.","file":{"fid":"258705","name":"utz humanizing stem c.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/09\/25\/utz%20humanizing%20stem%20c.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/09\/25\/utz%20humanizing%20stem%20c.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":154897,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/09\/25\/utz%20humanizing%20stem%20c.jpg?itok=ZEkry0_M"}}},"media_ids":["675111"],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"}],"categories":[{"id":"151","name":"Policy, Social Sciences, and Liberal Arts"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:michael.pearson@iac.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EMichael Pearson\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EIvan Allen College of Liberal Arts\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["michael.pearson@iac.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}