The Future of
Undergraduate
Science
Education
FUSE 2026
Claremont McKenna College, April 16-18
Claremont, California
Claremont McKenna College, April 16-18
Claremont, California
The Kravis Department of Integrated Sciences at Claremont McKenna College is pleased to host FUSE 2026, a conference that will bring together innovative science educators and leaders to explore the future of undergraduate science education. In an effort to best prepare our graduates to engage with rapidly evolving socio-scientific challenges, this conference will explore advances in pedagogies, the integration of scientific and non-scientific disciplines, the expanding roles of computation and AI, public-facing research and projects, and collaborations with local communities, industry, and stakeholders.
Participants will actively engage with one another through lightning talks, roundtable discussions, poster sessions, and other interactive formats designed to foster idea exchange. The conference aims to cultivate a lasting community of teacher-scholars who will continue to collaborate in advancing undergraduate science education.
Two major themes of this year's conference are:
Partnering with AI for Discovery will explore ways that AI can be used to support student learning and discovery including the uses of generative AI and machine learning methods and tools in the curriculum and student research.
Research Experiences for All will explore how socially responsible and relevant research experiences can be brought into introductory science courses, including those for non-majors, to provide students with first-hand experiences with the processes of scientific discovery with attention to science ethics and responsibility.
This single-track conference will involve approximately 60 participants, including members of the Advisory Council of the Kravis Department of Integrated Sciences, participants from a variety of institutions, and faculty and institutional leaders from the Claremont Colleges. The conference will be hosted at CMC's iconic new Robert Day Sciences Center. It will commence on Thursday, April 16 at lunch and continue through dinner on Friday April 17. On Saturday, April 18, there will be a half-day optional workshop hosted by the Allen Institute on teaching with open science resources.
Location: All events will be held at the Robert Day Sciences Center (RDSC) unless noted otherwise. Signage and welcome team in the RDSC lobby will direct participants. Sessions are in McElwee Forum on the ground floor unless otherwise noted.
11:30 AM Shuttle departs from DoubleTree to RDSC. (10 minute ride or 35 minute walk)
noon-1 Lunch
1:15 - 1:45 Welcome remarks, conference overview, and short talks to frame the meeting (McElwee Forum, ground floor)
1:45- 2:45 Partnering with AI flash talks
Monica Linden (Brown)
Nishant Dass (CMC)
Alex Engel (Stanford)
Katie McMenimen (Mt. Holyoke)
Elizabeth Glater (Pomona)
Cory Kohn (Pitzer and Scripps)
John Quinn (Furman)
Jason Tor (Pitzer and Scripps)
Karl Haushalter (Harvey Mudd)
3-3:15 Thoughts on AI (Shibu Yooseph, CMC)
3:15 - 4:15 Roundtable conversations in small groups (Agora, first floor).
Facilitators: Lynn Stein (Olin), Joel Franklin (Reed), Karen Parfitt (Pomona), Robert Gentleman (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute), David Nembhard (Harvey Mudd and CMC)
4:30 - 5 Report backs from roundtables (McElwee Forum)
5 - 6 Poster session and appetizers (Agora)
6 - 7:30 Dinner (RDSC)
8 PM Shuttle from RDSC to DoubleTree
7:30 Shuttle departs from DoubleTree to RDSC (10 minute ride or 35 minute walk)
8-9 Breakfast (RDSC)
9:15-10:15 KDIS: Vision to Implementation (KDIS faculty)
10:30-11:30 Research Experiences for All flash talks
Jeremy Hsu (Chapman)
Sue Vincent (Landmark)
Jacob Adler (Purdue)
Melissa Rowland-Goldsmith (Chapman)
Anna Ritz (Reed)
Denise Monti (HHMI)
Ivana Carev (U. of Split, Croatia)
Bryan Penprase (Soka)
11:45-1 Lunch Roundtables
Facilitators: Jane Liu (Pomona), Carrie Wu (Richmond), Arielle Cooley (Whitman), Sharon Torigoe (Lewis and Clark), Lisa Crummett (Soka)
1:15-2 Report backs from roundtables (McElwee Forum)
2-3 Poster session (Agora)
3:15-4:15 Affinity group formation (Agora)
4:30-4:45 Overview of Saturday's Allen Institute Workshop
4:45-5:45 Summative remarks and discussion
6 Shutlle from RDSC to La Popular Restaurant in the Claremont Village (10 minute shuttle, 30 minute walk)
6 - 8 Social and Dinner (La Popular Restaurant)
8:30 Shuttle from La Popular to DoubleTree (10 minute shuttle, 25 minute walk)
9 AM - noon Dr. Kaitlyn Casimo, Education and Engagement Manager at the Allen Institute, will discuss ways to use open science datasets to facilitate authentic discovery in undergraduate classrooms.
Please contact the organizers with any questions:
Professor Ran "RON" Libeskind-Hadas
Founding Chair, Kravis Department of Integrated Sciences
Director of Program Development, Kravis Department of Integrated Sciences