Heads for steel
Most students, by the time they leave Harvard, can speak intelligently across a range of topics, from special relativity to the foundations of ethical reasoning. Only a few graduate with the ability to bend a chunk of steel to the limits of imagination. In the Instructional Physics/SEAS Instrument Lab, a professionally outfitted machine shop tucked in the basement of Lyman Laboratory, students can learn to use a host of equipment — from lathes to laser cutters to 3-D printers. Though the shop is often called on to create one-of-a-kind items for faculty, its function is largely educational, said manager Stan Cotreau. The techniques students develop are applied to their thesis projects and available the rest of their professional lives. “Most people come in here with absolutely no skills, so I introduce them to everything — I actually prefer that, because then they learn things my way,” he said. “We start with things like...