Curiosity Unplugged

By early college, the number of science and engineering courses taken by women decline and gender disparities begin to emerge. How can society better understand the societal, psychological, and cultural factors contributing to this shift? What strategies can educators engage in to ensure an academic environment that encourages young women to consider STEM careers?

Joining Curiosity Unplugged are Physics Senior Lecturer and Associate Chair Sally Laurent-Muehleisen, Professor of Sociology Ullica Segerstrale, and Adjunct Faculty Member Vida Winans.

The emergence of social media over the last decade and a half has been rapid and abrupt. Platforms that, at first, provided an opportunity to connect with friends and family in new and interesting ways online have now also become vessels for misinformation and hate while fundamentally changing the way an entire generation learned to communicate with others. Now, as terms like “fake news” have entered our lexicon, a question arises: Have social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, and others outlived their usefulness?

Joining Curiosity Unplugged are Aron Culotta, assistant professor of computer science; Daniel Krieglstein, Illinois Tech alumnus and adjunct instructor in the School of Applied Technology’s Department of Information Technology and Management; and Anthony Michael Kreis, visiting assistant professor of law at Chicago-Kent College of Law.

The issue of cybersecurity is beginning to draw more attention in the United States, initiated, in part, by Russian interference in the 2016 presidential elections. Now, amid the almost constant news and discussion over America’s need for a physical wall along its southern border, the quieter danger of cyber threats continues to build in the background. What are we doing to protect ourselves against cyberattacks that could knock our nation’s grid offline, allow rival countries to conduct surveillance, or contribute the repeated data breaches that put individual citizens’ personal data at risk?

Joining Curiosity Unplugged is Zuyi Li, professor of electrical and computer engineering in Armour College of Engineering and associate director of the Robert W. Galvin Center for Electricity Innovation; Ray Trygstad, an industry professor of information technology and management in the School of Applied Technology; and Anita Nikolich, a cybersecurity expert and visiting fellow in the College of Science’s Department of Computer Science.

By their very nature, colleges and universities should celebrate intellectual diversity, the free exchange of ideas, and cultural norms. A commitment to academic engagement and inclusivity should be the norm. But is it? A 2017 Pew Research Center survey found that about half of STEM workers cite limited access to quality education as a major reason for the low number of Blacks and Hispanics in STEM jobs. How can we create a campus environment where all students can more fully realize their potential?

Joining Curiosity Unplugged today is Jean-Luc Ayitou, an assistant professor of chemistry in Illinois Tech’s College of Science; Amanda Williams, former adjunct associate professor in the College of Architecture; and Smriti Anand, associate professor of management at Stuart School of Business.

How did we get here? Where did we come from? Where are we going? As humans we have turned to both religion and science for answers to these infinitely daunting questions. Although religion and science have butted heads over topics such as genetics, medicine, and evolution, studies show that arguments between the two are overblown. According to a 2014 Pew Research Center report, while 59 percent of Americans believe that science and religion conflict, most Americans think that science aligns with their own beliefs, and most people who identify themselves as highly religious are less likely to see conflict. When it comes to God or science, whose side are we willing to take, and when?

Joining Curiosity Unplugged today are Andy Howard, associate professor of biology and physics; Karl Seigfried, adjunct humanities instructor and pagan chaplain at Illinois Tech; and Jack Snapper, associate professor of philosophy.   

In a 2017 Pew Research Center survey, 72 percent of Americans expressed some level of worry about the notion that machines might do many of the jobs currently done by humans—with 25 percent describing themselves as very worried. Additionally, 76 percent expect that widespread automation will lead to much greater levels of economic inequality than exist today. As society moves toward new and increased uses of automation technology, can we find a satisfactory way to coexist with our creations?

Joining Curiosity Unplugged is Professor of Computer Science Shlomo Argamon, Professor of Philosophy Elisabeth Hildt, and Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Matthew Spenko.

Illinois Tech has been on the leading edge of education that incorporates forward-thinking teaching methods. These include team- and project-based courses, learning by doing, exposure to sophisticated tools and research methods, design thinking, and digital technologies. But as technology and the job market evolve, how will universities keep up? What classroom techniques are—and will be—most productive at producing lifelong learners? And which methods are especially suited to teaching students how to succeed in a tech-driven future?

Joining Curiosity Unplugged is Karl Stolley, associate professor of digital writing and rhetoric; Jeremy Alexis, senior lecturer at the Institute of Design; and Dean of Lewis College of Human Sciences Christine Himes.

According to the Illinois Science and Technology Coalition, Chicago boasts the fifth largest economy in the United States and the fourth largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies. In 2017 Chicago saw $1.9 billion in venture funding and the highest venture capital returns of any U.S. startup hub. As the City of Big Shoulders continues to grow, how can its tech sector move to the number one spot?

Joining Curiosity Unplugged today is University Professor Howard Tullman, executive director of Illinois Tech’s Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship; Clinical Professor of Law Heather Harper, the supervising attorney for the Entrepreneurial Law Clinic in the Law Offices of Chicago-Kent College of Law at Illinois Tech; and Nik Rokop, Coleman Foundation Clinical Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at Illinois Tech’s Stuart School of Business. 

How do we move toward driverless cities in the nation that popularized the automobile? The Ford Model T, known widely as the first affordable automobile, hit the road in 1908. Since then it’s been a race to make bigger, better, flashier vehicles with amenities that would’ve been unfathomable to the automobile’s creator. But what happens when the automobile, arguably one of the greatest creations of the 20th century, becomes obsolete? City planners, architects, and designers are working toward a future where cars are no longer a necessity.

Joining Curiosity Unplugged today is Hank Perritt, professor of law and former dean at Illinois Tech’s Chicago-Kent College of Law; Boris Pervan, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Illinois Tech’s Armour College of Engineering; and Nilay Mistry, adjunct professor at Illinois Tech’s College of Architecture.

From the Naturalization Act of 1790 to the Chinese Exclusion Act to various incarnations of the Immigration Act, the United States has throughout its history imposed limits on the settlement of non-native individuals or non-citizens into the country. Since the time our nation was brand new, groups including slaves, Native Americans, Asians, and women, and up to today’s “Dreamers,” have alternately been barred from achieving U.S. citizenship. In the “land of the free,” has history shown us that immigration controls can be interpreted as a form of oppression, especially when it comes to naturalization?

Joining Curiosity Unplugged today is Nicole Legate, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Illinois Tech’s Lewis College of Human Sciences, and Associate Professor of Law Carolyn Shapiro, who is on the faculty of Illinois Tech’s Chicago-Kent College of Law.