Research & Ideas

Discover Harvard research, scholarship, and ideas shaping the world—from science and technology to policy, education, and the humanities.


Öberg to Lead Harvard Faculty Recruitment and Retention

The astrochemist will become senior vice provost for faculty affairs this summer.

by Jonathan Shaw

John Briscoe discusses water as a platform for development (video)

Four Harvard students from four different disciplines discuss a summer spent in Pakistan investigating water-related issues.

Water Security Initiative trains a new generation of multitalented specialists

John Briscoe tackles water insecurity around the world.

by Jonathan Shaw

The Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library, explored by Adam Kirsch

Adam Kirsch reads the Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library—the latest stage in the “American conquest of the Middle Ages”

by Adam Kirsch

An undergraduate travels to Namibia to participate in WorldTeach

An undergraduate travels to Namibia in the hope that, by flinging herself to a faraway place, she will figure things out.

by Katherine Xue

Sackler exhibition reveals artistic discovery in Renaissance Europe

An exhibition at the Sackler reveals the connections among Renaissance art, invention, and the evolution of science.

by Jennifer Carling , Jonathan Shaw

Photographs of early modern printed-paper sundials

Photographs of early modern printed-paper sundials

Jan Sadeler’s engravings of The Seven Liberal Arts

Jan Sadeler’s engravings of The Seven Liberal Arts

Inventions in Early Modern Europe

Images from Stradanus’s "Nova reperta," a series of engravings representing technological innovations of the modern age from the perspective of a practicing artist

An undergraduate volunteer looks at Ghana's growing private-school system

An undergraduate captures Ghana's growing private-school system in photographs.

by Sara Joe Wolansky

An undergraduate documents the impact of rural banking in Ghana

An undergraduate documents the impact of microfinance and rural banking in Ghana.

by Nur Nasreen Ibrahim