Grand Challenge Seminars Current Faculty
Current faculty in the Grand Challenge Seminar Program include prize-winning scholars and teachers from across Dietrich College and the CMU community.
A distinct feature of the Grand Challenge Seminar Program is that seminars are proposed by the faculty who deliver the courses. These experts attend to the seminar themes in their own research and bring these findings and ongoing inquiries to the classroom. Students have an opportunity to choose a seminar on a topic that sparks their curiosity. They learn from faculty who are driven, focused and passionate about the course topics. Each seminar includes the application of theoretical research to the real world, inquiry-based learning and collaboration with thinkers from a variety of disciplines.
Fall 2024
Beyond Earth: Reaching into the Cosmos through Science, Science Fiction, and Language
Tom Werner
Philosophy
Cheng Li
Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics
Health in Unhealthy Times
Jason D’Antonio
Biological Sciences
Julie Downs
Social and Decision Sciences
Andreea Ritivoi
English
Native Americas: Facts and Fictions
Anne Lambright
Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics
Paul Eiss
History
From Pandemics to Politics: Modeling Complex Social System
Kevin Zollman
Philosophy
John Miller
Social and Decision Sciences
(Mis)Trust in Research
Korryn Mozisek
English
Richelle Bernazzoli
Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholar Development
Equity and the Environment: Exploring Global Challenges and Local Solutions
Nuria Ballesteros Soria
Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics
Barbara George
English
Spring 2025
Appalachia: Development, Decline, and Identity in America
Timothy Haggery
History
We're Not Beyond Race: Race and Identity in America
Kody Manke-Miller
Psychology
Kevin Jarbo
Social and Decision Sciences
The Mirror of Technology: Exploring Biases in Computation and Cognition
Wayne Wu
Philosophy
Equitable Access and Success in Higher Education: A CMU Case Study
Nuria Ballesteros Soria
Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics
Chloe Thompson
History
The Challenge of Achieving Justice, Equity, and Freedom in a Complex World
Jay Aronson
History