Ilton is a Cottrell Scholar Collaborator

Mark Ilton, a physics professor at Harvey Mudd College, is joining forces with other STEM scholars to help promote diverse role models in science by way of a grant from Research Corporation for Science Advancement. Cottrell Scholar Collaborative Awards of $25,000 are funding four new collaborative projects that emerged from discussions at the 2023 Cottrell Scholar Conference, which focused on the theme of incentivizing cultural change in academia.

Cottrell Scholar Collaborative teams are made up of Fulbright-Cottrell Scholars, Robert Holland Jr. Award and Cottrell Scholars (Ilton was named a Cottrell Scholar in 2023). He will join faculty colleagues to work across disciplines and to develop innovative and high-impact ways to create positive change and improve undergraduate and graduate-level science education. The following is one of the four Collaborative Awards and the team that Ilton will serve on.

Hidden Figures in Physics and Astronomy: Highlighting Scientists from Marginalized Backgrounds in Course Lectures. Learning about the contributions of historically marginalized physicists and astronomers can help foster a sense of belonging among students from those groups, increasing their retention in STEM studies. It can also create a more holistic and diverse view of scientists among people outside STEM fields. This collaborative aims to create an online, searchable catalog of information about diverse role models in science to help instructors at the high school and college levels more easily incorporate into their lectures the contributions of Black, brown, women, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities, and others who may not be well known.

Lead Cottrell Scholar: Javier Duarte, physics, University of California, San Diego
In collaboration with additional Cottrell Scholars:


Kathy Aidala, physics, Mount Holyoke College


Mario Affatigato, physics, Coe College


Wen-fai Fong, astronomy, Northwestern University


Mark Ilton, physics, Harvey Mudd College


Catherine Kealhofer, physics, Williams College


Lydia Kisley, physics, Case Western Reserve University


Ryan Trainor, astronomy, Franklin & Marshall College


Gail Zasowski, astronomy, University of Utah