Mit: Shaping the Future

These 16 essays by faculty and staff of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology create a snapshot of MIT today and a guide to its possible future. The insights they offer will interest anyone concerned with the role of science and technology in American society and the future of scientific and technical education.

Topics include the question of whether technology does in fact shape the future, the relationship between technical and liberal education, the Institute's role in exploring options for such societal issues as productivity and pollution, the changing nature of the research library, the proper balance between national and international interests in education and research, and the relationship between MIT and industry.

Also included are personal reflections on teaching, on women students at the Institute, on the mission of MIT, and on the possibility of transforming the Institute into a therapeutic community. Other essays discuss recent breakthroughs in linguistics, combustion technology, and the application of system dynamics to precollege education. Finally, the book includes President Vest's own vision of the future, as outlined in his inaugural address.

Kenneth R. Manning is Thomas Meloy Professor of Rhetoric at MIT.