To Solve Societal Problems, Unite the Humanities with Science

How can music composition help students learn how to code? How can creative writing help medical practitioners improve care for their patients? Science and engineering have long been siloed from the humanities, arts, and social sciences, but uniting these disciplines could help leaders better understand and address problems like educational disparities, socioeconomic inequity, and decreasing national wellbeing.

On this episode, host Josh Trapani speaks to Kaye Husbands Fealing, dean of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts at Georgia Tech, about her efforts to integrate humanities and social sciences with science and engineering. We also discuss her pivotal role in establishing the National Science Foundation’s Science of Science and Innovation Policy program, and why an integrative approach is crucial to solving societal problems.

Recommended Reading

· Read Kaye Husbands Fealing, Aubrey DeVeny Incorvaia, and Richard Utz’s Issues piece “Humanizing Science and Engineering for the Twenty-First Century” for for our series “The Next 75 Years of Science Policy," supported by the Kavli Foundation

[KS1]Think this is enough to justify using Kavli funds to promote this episode of the podcast?

· Visit Kaye Husbands Fealing’s webpage at Georgia Tech

· Read Julia Lane’s Issues piece “A Vision for Democratizing Government Data”

· Read National Science Board members Ellen Ochoa and Victor R. McCrary’s Issues piece “Cultivating America’s STEM Talent Must Begin at Home”

· Read John H. Marburger’s 2005 piece in Science “Wanted: Better Benchmarks”

· Look at the National Academies 2014 summary of the Science of Science and Innovation Policy (SciSIP) principal investigators conference

· View the webpage for the SciSIP program (renamed Science of Science: Discovery, Communication, and Impact) at the National Science Foundation