Stevens Institute builds AI literacy into freshman science courses

Stevens Institute of Technology has moved AI literacy into the first years of undergraduate science, pairing introductory biology and chemistry with hands-on analysis of real cancer data. Inside Higher Ed reported the new “AI in Biology and Chemistry” (AiBC) Community on 17 June 2026, describing a cross-college collaboration among Stevens, Hudson County Community College and Saint Peter’s University in northern New Jersey. The stated aim is to help students form a scientific identity early and learn to judge what AI tools get right and wrong.

The program is built around three projects: a first-semester Career Exploration track, an AiBC Scholars summer research experience, and a Cross-sector Engagement strand that links the colleges with industry. It is funded by a National Science Foundation IUSE:EDU Capacity-Building grant (Award No. 2518952), with added support from the consultancy PwC and alumni gifts.

Building AI literacy with real cancer data

At the centre of the program is a four-week summer research experience for rising sophomores. According to the Stevens AiBC Community page, students analyze real cancer RNA-sequencing datasets, apply machine-learning tools to identify drug targets and candidate compounds, and then design synthetic routes for those compounds. The approach folds AI literacy into laboratory science rather than teaching it as a separate computing course.

Marcin Iwanicki, a teaching associate professor at Stevens and the program’s director, said the data-first method changes what a beginner can do. “At the freshman level, we can bring real data into the classroom and have students analyze it in minutes,” he stated in the Inside Higher Ed report. Iwanicki, a cancer biologist by training, leads the program; Woo Lee, professor and chair of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, is the principal investigator and community leader.

Source: Inside Higher Ed (17 June 2026); Stevens Institute of Technology AiBC Community page.

A workshop that linked students to industry

The community held its inaugural workshop on 18 May 2026. Its program included a panel on AI adoption in the biotechnology industry, with scientists from three drug makers: Stephen Cornwell of Pfizer, Hector Borges of Merck, and Scott Halpern, a principal scientist for machine learning and cheminformatics at Bristol Myers Squibb. The session connected undergraduates with practitioners who use the same tools in commercial drug development, part of the program’s effort to tie classroom skills to the regional biotechnology and health-care sectors.

Patricia Muisener, a teaching professor at Stevens and associate chair for undergraduate education, framed the goal in terms of identity and judgment. Students, she noted, wanted the foundational knowledge “to judge what is correct and what is not correct” in the outputs an AI system returns — a skill the program treats as central to AI literacy rather than incidental to it.

What the early survey measured

Stevens reported a shift in how participating students described their career motivation. In post-session surveys cited by Muisener, more than 60 percent said they were choosing career paths based on enjoyment and passion, compared with about 43 percent before the sessions. The figures come from a single program’s self-reported surveys, with no published sample size, and they track motivation rather than measured learning gains or AI-literacy test scores.

The program enters a debate that Winssolutions has followed closely. The World Economic Forum’s AI readiness framework for education argued that systems need preparation before adopting AI responsibly, and OECD research has warned that AI can raise grades while harming learning when tools replace the effort of study. The AiBC model positions AI as something students operate and check, in line with the case that AI should support, not replace, teachers.

Background

Stevens Institute of Technology is a private research university founded in 1870 in Hoboken, New Jersey, with longstanding programs in engineering and the sciences. Its AiBC Community is a recent addition, funded through the National Science Foundation’s Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE:EDU) program under a Capacity-Building Phase grant (Award No. 2518952), and developed with two nearby institutions that serve large commuter and transfer populations: Hudson County Community College and Saint Peter’s University.

By placing real cancer datasets and machine-learning tools in first- and second-year courses, the partners are testing whether early, applied exposure builds both scientific confidence and the judgment to question AI outputs. The 17 June 2026 report describes the first year of that effort, including its inaugural workshop and an early read on how students describe their motivation; whether the approach changes measured learning or persistence in science remains to be evaluated.

Sources: Inside Higher Ed; Stevens Institute of Technology

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Figen Sekin

I specialize in sustainability education, curriculum co-creation, and early-stage project strategy. At WINSS, I craft articles on sustainability, transformative AI, and related topics. When I’m not writing, you’ll find me chasing the perfect sushi roll, exploring cities around the globe, or unwinding with my dog Puffy — the world’s most loyal sidekick.