About

The Big Data activities will anchor Macalester’s efforts to prepare students to be leaders in science and medicine in an era of increasingly complex and large data sets, while also promoting the integration of the sciences with other fields of inquiry. Students will refine and enhance their computation and visualization skills from the beginning of their studies, across multiple disciplines, and into intensive research experiences. This potent combination prepares Macalester students to transform data into knowledge.

With support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Macalester College is focusing on a unified institutional objective: to build the capacity of undergraduates to transform data into scientific knowledge through computation and to share that knowledge with others.

Never before have scientists been confronted with such rapid expansion in the volume and complexity of data. Those who begin scientific careers in the coming decades, whether in academic, clinical, or commercial settings, will interrogate data in multiple formats from multiple sources.

HHMI Science Education Program

Through its grants to individuals and institutions, HHMI supports the efforts of scientists and educators, colleges and universities, and biomedical research organizations. These grants are transforming the ways research is conducted and science is taught and understood.

The largest privately funded education initiative of its kind in the United States, HHMI’s grants program is enhancing science education for students at all levels, from the earliest grades through advanced training.

Grants awarded by HHMI fit within two general categories: research grants for individuals and science education grants for institutions. Most HHMI grants are awarded through competitions that have specific objectives and eligibility criteria; thus, HHMI does not encourage and rarely funds unsolicited grant proposals.