Diversifying STEM Curriculum Projects 2021
Summer 2021 saw the launch of our first Diversifying STEM Curriculum project, with five undergraduate students from five STEM-based subjects joining us remotely for a two-month internship. Supervised by academic faculty members from the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences (MPLS) Division and academics from the Faculty of History, these students had a unique experience to broaden their learning and understanding of their STEM subjects from a historical context and bring to light inspiring and important research and people who have not received the recognition they deserve.
The students picked their own research topics and developed their final projects in collaboration with each other and their supervisors. The final projects are available through the buttons below – one button per subject. These resources are available to anyone who is interested in learning or teaching a more diverse curriculum and we encourage you to share this with your colleagues and friends. You are welcome to make use of any of the materials on these pages, but we ask that you credit the authors of the research and the MPLS/Faculty of History Diversifying STEM Curriculum Project.
This project is being run annually so, if you would like to be involved or have any questions, please get in touch with us at diversity@mpls.ox.ac.uk.
BIOLOGY
Our Biology student is currently doing an undergraduate degree at the University of Oxford. Their project focuses on science as narrative, and how by accepting it as a process we can understand how information builds, develops, and is then communicated across cultures. To demonstrate this, they have chosen to discuss caffeine.
CHEMISTRY
Our Chemistry student is studying an undergraduate degree at the University of Oxford. Their project highlights the important role of European and British women in Organic Chemistry, before, during and after the First World War.
ENGINEERING SCIENCE
Our Engineering student has just completed their undergraduate degree from University College London. Their project investigates gender equality in Engineering, looking specifically at the period of time between the First and Second World Wars. By reflecting on lessons learnt, this project identifies the challenges and recommends solutions to enable women engineers.
MATHEMATICS
Our Mathematics student is currently completing their undergraduate degree at Queen Mary University of London. Their project explores the history and philosophy of algebra in Islamic Mathematics, focusing particularly on the seventh and eighth centuries.
PHYSICS
Our Physics student has just completed their undergraduate degree at Queen Mary University of London. Their project seeks to provide a decolonialist account of South Asian science by interrogating the scientific-historical environment of colonial India at the time of its acceptance into western scientific spheres in the mid-20th century.
Interested in reading the 2022 projects? You can see them here.