Hurray for successful collaboration across disciplines! Check out this wonderful book of short stories, or “fictional essays,” written by chemistry capstone students to help them think about ethical dilemmas in science. As the preface by Prof. Heeyoung Tai says, imaginative writing enabled students to “see the future—not just the benefits that scientific advances would bring, but the possible unintended consequences that they would need to address and consider at the same time.”

The Creative Writing program was delighted to assist Heeyoung Tai and her chemistry capstone class with the project. Thanks to Professor Tai, who had the idea to develop the assignment and invited us to participate. Thanks also to my colleague in Spanish, Iñaki Pradanos, who introduced me to the idea of assigning fictional essays to think through real-world issues in our co-taught Urban Futures class last fall. Much gratitude to the terrific fiction writer and Miami MFA graduate Justin Chandler, who visited Heeyoung Tai’s capstone and got chemistry students thinking like fiction writers.

Hey chemistry students: your stories are scary and fascinating! We look forward to more creative collaborations across disciplines in future.

Cathy Wagner, Creative Writing Program Director