A Nobel Laureate, authors of award-winning literature and several Ph.D. recipients agreed that the United States needs minority talent in mathematics and sciences at a panel discussion last night.
"You just don't know who is going to make the next scientific discovery," said panelist Cynthia McIntyre, a theoretical physicist and assistant professor of physics at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.
About 75 people gathered in Spaulding Auditorium for the forum, which is the first of many events scheduled for the College's celebration of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.
The panel's moderator, Martin Davidson, a professor at the Tuck School of Business, opened the discussion by asking the question: "Why is it important to have a forum on the role of African-Americans and Minorities in Science and Technology?"
The question generated various responses from the panelists, who varied in experience, ethnicity and gender. Professor Jerome Friedman, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, voiced an opinion with which other panelists agreed.
"We need the talent of the minorities in this country," he said.
Panelists also discussed ways of encouraging minority students to enter the scientific community and reasons some minority students feel uncomfortable in the scientific community.
One panelist said the competitive nature of science adds to the problem of minority participation.
The panel, titled "A Window Into the New Millenium," was this year's E.E. Just '07 Forum on the Role of African Americans and Minorities in Mathematics, Engineering, Medicine and the Sciences.
