PAIR Distinguished Lecture Series: Designing the university for modern research teams

Biography

Kathryn A."Kam" Moler develops tools that image nanoscale magnetic fields to study quantum materials and devices. Among other honors, she received a national Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, a Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering, the William L. McMillan Award , and the Richtmyer Award for Outstanding Leadership in Physics Education. She is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Abstract

Universities conduct research for three reasons: to educate students, to contribute to society, and to understand the world. While society often holds a view of the scholar as a solitary and singular genius, in reality scholars today participate in a highly collaborative, worldwide search for shared understandings that stand the test of time and the scrutiny of others. The problems in the 21st century often demand effort by teams of researchers with resources at scale: laboratories and equipment, compute resources, and expert staffing. Working with faculty, students, and other stakeholders to identify the greatest opportunities and the resources needed to address them is both a privilege and a challenge for modern academic administrators. In this talk, I will share three examples: fostering collaborative proposal-writing; planning for shared capabilities in experimental facilities, data, and computation; and transforming academic structures.