Robert Martello

Dr. Robert Martello is a Professor of the History of Science and Technology at Olin College. A graduate of MIT’s program in the History and Social Study of Science and Technology, he is the author of Midnight Ride, Industrial Dawn: Paul Revere and the Growth of American Enterprise, a study of Revere’s multifaceted career and national impacts. He is now researching Benjamin Franklin's printing and business endeavors, and he regularly lectures on Revere and Franklin, our “Founding Makers,” for audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Dr. Martello has chaired efforts that re-imagined Olin’s faculty reappointment and promotion, institutional outreach and student assessment approaches. His NSF-sponsored research, engineering education publications and faculty development workshops explore connections between interdisciplinary education, student motivation and self-directed project-based learning. He implements his findings in experimental courses such as “The Stuff of History,” “Six Microbes that Changed the World,” “Chemistry in Context” and “Designing the 21st Century Engineer,” and is a member of the National Academies Study Committee on the Integration of Education in STEM, Humanities and Arts.