Might there be unintended consequences to our increasingly STEM-focused curriculum today? But might there also be benefits to this STEM focus that we had not realized? In short, the natural sciences study the universe, but they also play an important and undervalued role in students formation as persons. 

Professor Catherine Crouch, Chair of Physics and Astronomy at Swarthmore College, has made a life of studying physics education. Her research has led her to ponder ways to improve instruction in physics but also into questions about the existential and even spiritual role the natural sciences play in our lives.