Science & Mathematics
Making breakthroughs
Look around a math or science classroom or lab at Bennington and who do you see? The researcher, the policy student grappling with environmental problems, the artist who wants to understand the physics of light and color. Here, students thinking about the world in vastly different ways are invited to pursue a rigorous study of astronomy, biology, chemistry, earth sciences, mathematics, computer science, and physics. In small seminars, in well-equipped facilities and labs, and in the rich array of natural landscapes around Bennington, students work closely with faculty who are experts in their fields鈥攑rogrammers whose software and services are used by millions of people every day, scientists whose work is supported by NASA, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Science Foundation, and mathematicians whose insights get published in top-tier journals.
By structuring their studies around the questions that interest them most, by engaging with current research in their fields, students move beyond the lecture-only model. Instead, they learn to do science鈥攖o pose a question and then figure out how to address it鈥攆rom the moment they arrive on campus. From their first year, students find themselves designing and executing original research projects and working alongside faculty on their research.
At Bennington, students work closely with faculty to design the content, structure, and sequence of their study and practice鈥攖heir Plan鈥攖aking advantage of the College's resources both inside and outside the classroom to pursue their work.
Faculty
The biologists, chemists, physicists, astronomers, computer scientists, and mathematicians at Bennington are not only making meaningful contributions to their respective fields, they鈥檙e often conducting research right here on campus鈥攁nd inviting students to join them in their work.
SPACES
Seeing Stars
On the western edge of campus, the Stickney Observatory houses a 16-inch computer-controlled telescope through which students observe the night skies over the Green Mountains.
Field Work Term
Students gain experience in the lab and the field through collaborations with working scientists.
And More
Alumni
From research scientists to leaders in digital culture to genre-bending programmers to people working at the intersection of art and science or at the interface between science and policy, Bennington alumni are putting their science and mathematics training to use in countless ways.
Notables and Influencers
Jason Fridley '97
Kathryn Furby '08
Devin Gaffney '10
Joan Hinton '42
Tambu Kudze '10
Jennifer Mieres '82
Max Nanis '12
G眉ven莽 脰zel '02
Dushyant Pathak '85
Elizabeth Pfister '43
Jeanne Poduska '85
Mike Rugnetta '06
Amar Sahay '97
Patricia Cronin Adams '64
Judith Schneider Bond '61
August de los Reyes '95
Jason Fridley '97
Named an 鈥渆xceptional young scientist鈥 for his work on the effect of climate change on invasive plant species
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Kathryn Furby '08
PhD candidate with the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at Scripps Institution of Oceanography working to harness the power of storytelling to show how anyone can become a scientist
Devin Gaffney '10
PhD student in network science whose work tracks viral cascades鈥攎odeling the emergence of opinions with groups of people
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Joan Hinton '42
Physicist on the Manhattan Project, which developed the atom bomb, and later a committed Maoist
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Tambu Kudze '10
Medical student at Yale School of Medicine and former research technician in the Kaplan Lab at the department of molecular biology, Massachusetts General Hospital
Jennifer Mieres '82
Cardiologist and advocate for women鈥檚 health, heart disease prevention, and diversity in healthcare
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Max Nanis '12
Computational biologist, artist, and programmer dubbed a 鈥渄igital rock star鈥 by The New Yorker
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G眉ven莽 脰zel '02
Director of the IDEAS Lab at UCLA and winner of a NASA competition to design habitation on Mars
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Dushyant Pathak '85
Associate vice chancellor for technology management and corporate relations at UC Davis, with a background in Fortune-500, publicly traded, entrepreneurial, and startup companies
Elizabeth Pfister '43
Pilot who learned to fly during her freshman year at Bennington, graduated early to become a WASP in World War II, and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 2010
Jeanne Poduska '85
Deputy director and principal research scientist at American Institutes for Research who has worked at the intersection of public health, prevention, and education
Mike Rugnetta '06
Composer, programmer, and host of the PBS web series Idea Channel
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Amar Sahay '97
Neurobiologist named one of America鈥檚 鈥淚nnovative New Scientists鈥 by the National Institute of Mental Health
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Patricia Cronin Adams '64
Former president of the New England Pediatric Society, fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and winner of the 2001 Franklin Rogers Award for her contributions to pediatric causes by the New Hampshire Pediatric Society
Judith Schneider Bond '61
Evan Pugh Professor Emeritus and former chair of the department of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State University and past president of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology and the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
August de los Reyes '95
Principal design director for Xbox who is implementing a radical vision for Microsoft
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