Article
ID: CBB001550692

A Place for Materials Science: Laboratory Buildings and Interdisciplinary Research at the University of Pennsylvania (2015)

unapi
Laboratories Interdisciplinary approach to knowledge 20th century, late United States University of Pennsylvania

The Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter (LRSM), University of Pennsylvania, was built in 1965 as part of the Advanced Research Projects Agency's (ARPA) Interdisciplinary Laboratories (IDL) program intended to foster interdisciplinary research and training in materials science. The process that led to the construction of the four-story structure served as the focus of intense debates over the meaning and process of interdisciplinary research in universities. The location of the building, its size, internal design, and functionalities were all subject to heated negotiations among patrons, scientists, and university administrators, to find the proper place of interdisciplinary materials science on the University of Pennsylvania's campus. Building on the recent work on laboratory architecture, this paper argues that the negotiations and controversies over the LRSM building were concrete representations of the broader struggle over the appropriate place of interdisciplinary research and training within a university.

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Authors & Contributors
Shin, Youjung
Sutton, Katie
Schoenstein, Tasha L.
Nigg, Joanne
Kendra, James
Wisnioski, Matthew H.
Journals
Science, Technology and Human Values
History of the Human Sciences
Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences
Engineering Studies
Revue d'Histoire des Sciences Humaines
Physics in Perspective
Publishers
University of New Hampshire
MIT Press
Harvard University Press
University of Pennsylvania
Harvard University
Cornell University
Concepts
Interdisciplinary approach to knowledge
Laboratories
Universities and colleges
Research institutes; research stations
Social sciences
Cold War
People
Schmitt, Francis Otto
Kinsey, Alfred C.
Franklin, Benjamin
Time Periods
20th century, late
21st century
20th century
19th century
18th century
Places
United States
Philadelphia, PA
Netherlands
Germany
France
Australia
Institutions
University of Pennsylvania
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT
Harvey Mudd College
Lincoln Laboratory
National Institute of Health (U.S.)
University of Chicago
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