Becoming MIT: Moments of Decision

by David Kaiser (Editor)

Overview

The evolution of MIT, as seen in a series of crucial decisions over the years.

How did MIT become MIT? The Massachusetts Institute of Technology marks the 150th anniversary of its founding in 2011. Over the years, MIT has lived by its motto, “Mens et Manus” (“Mind and Hand”), dedicating itself to the pursuit of knowledge and its application to real-world problems. MIT has produced leading scholars in fields ranging from aeronautics to economics, invented entire academic disciplines, and transformed ideas into market-ready devices. This book examines a series of turning points, crucial decisions that helped define MIT. Many of these issues have relevance today: the moral implications of defense contracts, the optimal balance between government funding and private investment, and the right combination of basic science, engineering, and humanistic scholarship in the curriculum.

Chapters describe the educational vison and fund-raising acumen of founder William Barton Rogers (MIT was among the earliest recipients of land grant funding); MIT's relationship with Harvard—its rival, doppelgänger, and, for a brief moment, degree-conferring partner; the battle between pure science and industrial sponsorship in the early twentieth century; MIT's rapid expansion during World War II because of defense work and military training courses; the conflict between Cold War gadgetry and the humanities; protests over defense contracts at the height of the Vietnam War; the uproar in the local community over the perceived riskiness of recombinant DNA research; and the measures taken to reverse years of institutionalized discrimination against women scientists.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780262518154
Publisher:	MIT Press
Publication date:	09/14/2012
Series:	The MIT Press
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 6.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

David Kaiser is Germeshausen Professor of the History of Science, Department Head of the Program in Science, Technology, and Society, and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Physics at MIT. He is the author of Drawing Theories Apart: The Dispersion of the Feynman Diagrams in Postwar Physics, and editor of Pedagogy and the Practice of Science: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives (MIT Press).

Merritt Roe Smith is Cutten Professor of the History of Technology at MIT and the author or editor of six books, most recently Inventing America: A History of the United States.

Bruce Sinclair, formerly Melvin Kranzberg Professor of the History of Technology at the Georgia Institute of Technology, is a Senior Fellow at the Dibner Institute at MIT. He has served as president of the Society for the History of Technology and received its Da Vinci Medal.

Christophe Lécuyer is Professor of the History of Science and Technology at Université Pierre et Marie Curie and the author of Making Silicon Valley: Innovation and the Growth of High Tech, 1930-1970 (MIT Press, 2005).

Deborah G. Douglas is Curator of Science and Technology at the MIT Museum. She was the curator and project director for the MIT 150 Exhibition.

David Kaiser is Germeshausen Professor of the History of Science, Department Head of the Program in Science, Technology, and Society, and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Physics at MIT. He is the author of Drawing Theories Apart: The Dispersion of the Feynman Diagrams in Postwar Physics, and editor of Pedagogy and the Practice of Science: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives (MIT Press).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Introduction: Moments of Decision David Kaiser 1

1 "God Speed the Institute": The Foundational Years, 1861 - 1894 Merritt Roe Smith 15

2 Mergers and Acquisitions Bruce Sinclair 37

3 Patrons and a Plan Christophe Lécuyer 59

4 Mit and War Deborah Douglas 81

5 Elephant on the Charles: Postwar Growing Pains David Kaiser 103

6 "Time of Troubles" For the Special Laboratories Stuart W. Leslie 123

7 "Refrain From Using the Alphabet": How Community Outreach Catalyzed the Life Sciences at Mit John Durant 145

8 Putting Gender on the Table Lotte Bailyn 165

With An Afterword Nancy Hopkins

Epilogue Susan Hockfield 193

List of Contributors 195

Index 201

What People are Saying About This

Peter Galison

Becoming MIT casts new light on how, through technology, industry, and fundamental science, this institution became the powerhouse it is today. But the book does far more—it unflinchingly looks at direct confrontation with issues of science and war, science and public policy, and gender inequity in the halls of the Institute itself. A remarkable study of an astonishing university.

Charles Vest

Becoming MIT is a gem for anyone interested in American science, technology, history, or higher education. By exploring eight critical moments of institutional decision, this brief but eloquent book chronicles the evolution of MIT and its dynamic, out-of-proportion impact on industry, defense, and higher education. From the machine age to the biotechnology era, the people of MIT have both driven and reflected the challenges and changing nature of American society.

Endorsement

Becoming MIT is a gem for anyone interested in American science, technology, history, or higher education. By exploring eight critical moments of institutional decision, this brief but eloquent book chronicles the evolution of MIT and its dynamic, out-of-proportion impact on industry, defense, and higher education. From the machine age to the biotechnology era, the people of MIT have both driven and reflected the challenges and changing nature of American society.

—Charles Vest, MIT President Emeritus

From the Publisher

"Becoming MIT casts new light on how, through technology, industry, and fundamental science, this institution became the powerhouse it is today. But the book does far more — it unflinchingly looks at direct confrontation with issues of science and war, science and public policy, and gender inequity in the halls of the Institute itself. A remarkable study of an astonishing university." — Peter Galison, Joseph Pellegrino University Professor in History of Science and Physics, Harvard University

"Becoming MIT is a gem for anyone interested in American science, technology,history, or higher education. By exploring eight critical moments of institutional decision, this brief but eloquent book chronicles the evolution of MIT and its dynamic, out-of-proportion impact on industry, defense, and higher education. From the machine age to the biotechnology era, the people of MIT have both driven and reflected the challenges and changing nature of American society." —Charles Vest, MIT President Emeritus

Editorial Reviews

Becoming MIT successfully charts the expansion of voices in MIT's perpetual self-reckoning.—Matt Wisnioski, Technology and Culture—

From the Publisher

Becoming MIT successfully charts the expansion of voices in MIT's perpetual self-reckoning.

—Matt Wisnioski, Technology and Culture

Reviews

Becoming MIT successfully charts the expansion of voices in MIT's perpetual self-reckoning.

Technology and Culture - Matt Wisnioski