Not Just Another Project

400693330University of UtahNot Just Another ProjectThe value I see in the Crocker Science Center

Curtis Grant Miller1/29/2014

00693330JuniorMathematics and Economicscgmil@msn.com801-694-6344Essay for the Crocker Science Center Student Essay Contest.

Most students would see a project like the Crocker Science Center (CSC) as another unnecessary waste of their tuition money. I typically belong to that group; having been in college since 2010 and after being an intern in Washington, D.C., where I followed discussions on why tuition rates are rising and how that money is spent, I am probably more skeptical and bitter than most regarding projects like the CSC. I originally failed to see the benefit of a new project which appeared to merely duplicate the functions of facilities already present on campus. I saw no benefit from what appeared to be simply a vanity project.That question hung with me for a while, lingering in the back of my mind as I went about my studies. I study mathematics here at the University of Utah, so most of my classes are held in the Leroy-Crowles (LCB) and John Widstoe (JWB) buildings. With the new Math Center adjoining the two buildings, some days I can attend all my classes, study, and work as a math tutor in the math center without ever needing to step outdoors. As a result, most days I live in a very small world.I began wondering whether living in that bubble inhibits my education. My area of emphasisstatisticsfocuses on providing methods for scientists, engineers, policy makers, and others that provide insight into data and help determine what data says, whether it be as simple as whos in the lead in the polls before election or as critical as determining the effectiveness of a new medical treatment. Few areas of mathematics focus as intently on application and the utility of our research for other disciplines. With that in mind, should my classes be so centralized that I live in a universe occupied only by other mathematicians? They may be my colleagues, but in principle they are not the end user of the knowledge I hope to help create.Sometimes I compare studying statistics to running a business. A successful business must know and understand its customers. Likewise, if I desire to be a successful statistician, I should know the challenges scientists using statistical inference to reach conclusionsmy customersface in their studies. I should interact with my clientele regularly so that when I study statistics, I can produce products that they can use to contribute more to our societys understanding of reality.With this in mind, I realized that the CSC, as conceived, would bridge this gap between my field and the others for whom I study. The CSC aspires to be a nexus through which the sciences meet, joining communities in the university together under one roof by providing modern laboratories, study and commons areas, tutoring, academic and professional services, and other facilities intended to meet the needs of the subjects under the purview of the College of Science. This would provide a valuable contribution to my education that I currently do not experience from studying in my bubble: the perspectives of others with different backgrounds. I would acquire this perspective as I network with students with different majors in the facilities of the CSC. Thus, the CSC adds a key ingredient for making me a better statistician.But the CSC does not limit itself to just the Universitys community; the designs incorporate entities outside the campus into the Universitys community as well. As a student at the University, I rarely conduct business outside the campus. Most of my life occurs on campus, and if I lived on campus, I would probably forget that there is a world beyond the mountains or west of the stadium. Campus life tends to limit my field of vision to academia, but I believe that academia should attempt to answer questions that arise from experience outside a University campus. Academia ought to strive to make our society better and advance the human experience and understanding as a whole. To accomplish this goal, colleges should provide programs aimed at connecting students academic experience with the unsterilized challenges faced in the real world.Other colleges here at the University have programs that provide this critical link between their students and the rest of society. Whenever I have a class at the Warnock Engineering Building (WEB), I see how they work extensively with companies outside the University; companies have presentations throughout the building and an office that provides students with more information. The College of Social and Behavioral Science has the Hinckley Institute of Politics, a well-reputed program providing a powerful link between the University and other entities. The College of Science, at present, does not have a program comparable to these.The CSC aims to rectify this. The business and technology incubator at the CSC will bring students into contact with innovators outside the University, introducing another perspective into their education. With that, I would be better equipped to understand the challenges innovators outside the University face, incorporate that into my studies, and thus enhance my own understanding of my field and its role in the bigger picture. The CSC also provides resources for students pursuing a career in teaching STEM curricula in K-12 schools. That may not be my end goal, but I know several friends who would benefit from and appreciate this. While programs such as the Hinckley Institute of Politics do provide valuable experiences for students, I feel that students in the College of Science deserve a program that focuses on their particular studies so they will gain much more academically and professionally.After considering these ideas, I began to see the CSC as not just another vanity project the University increases my tuition to build. The CSC may appear to simply be a remodeled version of existing facilities at the University, but the planners of the CSC have threaded its designs with an insight that has spurred innovation in Silicon Valley and elsewhere: bringing various minds together to network in a pleasant central location ignites creativity and insight beyond what otherwise would have been had everyone stayed only within their cliques. This is something everyone, including myself, can benefit from, both at the University and beyond.