Introducing the MIT Human Insight Collaborative

Dear faculty and researchers,

We are thrilled to introduce the MIT Human Insight Collaborative (MITHIC), a new initiative that unites top scholars in the human-centered disciplines with colleagues across the Institute. MITHIC aims to harness the power of human insight to address today’s most pressing challenges, educate tomorrow’s leaders, and expand humanity’s horizons.

Over the summer, some of you will have heard this initiative discussed as the MIT Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Collectives. The decision to adopt the name “Human Insight Collaborative” reflects our focus on the core value these disciplines bring – fostering creativity, inquiry, and understanding, and amplifying our impact on global issues such as climate change, AI, pandemics, poverty, democracy, and more.

As President Kornbluth highlighted in her message last week on high-level themes and priorities, MIT’s collective impact can be strengthened through initiatives such as MITHIC, which will foster and support new collaborations on large human problems. MITHIC – as the first of these formal collaboratives – seeks to bring together scholars across MIT disciplines.

There are three funds launched under MITHIC, which together will provide $3 million in annual support:

• The SHASS+ Connectivity Fund is designed to support research that builds bridges between SHASS fields and other fields at MIT. Proposals require a project lead in SHASS and another project lead whose primary appointment is outside of SHASS. The fund will award $2 million per year across all projects. Co-chairs: David Kaiser, Germeshausen Professor of the History of Science and professor of physics, and Maria Yang, deputy dean of engineering and Gail E. Kendall (1978) Professor of Mechanical Engineering.
• The Humanities Cultivation Fund will fund projects in the humanities and arts in SHASS. The fund will award $500,000 per year across all projects. Co-chairs: Anne McCants, Ann F. Friedlaender Professor of History, and Arthur Bahr, professor of literature.
• The SHASS Education Innovation Fund is intended to support new educational approaches in SHASS fields. Proposals must be led by SHASS and group proposals are encouraged. The fund will award $500,000 per year across all projects. Co-chairs: Emily Richmond Pollock, associate professor of music, and Eric Klopfer, professor of comparative media studies/writing.

We encourage all faculty members and researchers to visit mithic.mit.edu and consider how you might engage with MITHIC’s resources and team. Whether you are interested in energizing innovation in the humanities and arts, empowering interdisciplinary teams, or elevating human-centered education across MIT, the Human Insight Collaborative exists to support your endeavors.

We invite you to join the MITHIC team for an information session and networking reception on Wednesday, September 18 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. in Killian Hall (14W-111). MITHIC faculty lead Keeril Makan, associate dean of SHASS and Michael (1949) and Sonja Koerner Music Composition Professor, will lead the session with the fund co-chairs. For those interested specifically in the SHASS+ Connectivity Fund, we also encourage you to complete this expression of interest form to be kept up to date with events and opportunities to engage.

The MIT Human Insight Collaborative serves as a vital platform for fostering ambitious, interdisciplinary research. There is more to this collaborative than just the funds – MITHIC will also provide support for the community, undergraduates, and more. We look forward to collaborating with you and seeing the transformative projects that will emerge from this effort.

For any information or correspondence, please reach out to mithic@mit.edu.

Anantha Chandrakasan
Chief Innovation and Strategy Officer
Dean, School of Engineering

Agustín Rayo
Kenan Sahin Dean, School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences