The mysteries in materials
When MIT senior Shannon Taylor peers through a microscope at tiny samples of ancient artifacts or their replicas, she sees the distinct outlines of individual grains and the intricate crystal structure of the copper and silver they contain. What she doesn’t necessarily see is the life and culture of the people who created these materials 500 years ago.But Taylor — a materials science and engineering major from North Carolina who likes to read mystery novels and experiment with new recipes in her free time — has had the chance during her time at the Institute to look beyond the microscope. She’s stepped into the boots of a metal smith right on MIT’s campus, and she’s traveled to 500-year-old churches in Mexico.These adventures weren’t always part of her plan, however.The daughter of a statistician and a mathematician, Taylor once thought she might study mathematics. Interested in math and science from a...