This summer Denise Pilato taught an intensive two-week study-abroad course in the Mt. Vesuvius region of southern Italy, where she and nine graduate students studied the social impact of first-century Roman technology.

"Ancient material culture and primary resources offer students a unique opportunity for understanding technology, both historic and contemporary," said Pilato, an associate professor in the master of liberal studies in interdisciplinary technology program in the School of Technology Studies. "Students discovered fascinating ancient Roman technologies that continue to have contemporary relevance and affect our lives today."

Pilato and her students stayed in a renovated convent in the historic Spanish Quarter of Naples, Italy, near the legendary Mt. Vesuvius. Its eruption in 79 A.D. was so powerful that it covered Pompeii, nine miles away, and many surrounding towns. "The dwellings and infrastructure of Pompeii and Herculaneum were preserved in great detail under many feet of ash, which completely covered both cities entirely," she said. "Although neither city is totally excavated, much of the work done over the last 150 years reveals ancient technologies, which tell us much about how people lived and worked in first-century Roman society."

What often struck students were the similarities between Pompeii's public and private water systems and our systems today, Pilato said. "They were fascinated by the sophistication of the water system, which revealed how important hygiene and fresh water were to people and how technology provided a quality of private and public life that still does not exist in all parts of the world," she said. "Students made connections between human values and technology that continue to resonate in our own culture. This experience was rich with examples to compare and contrast what technology reveals about all cultures."

Pilato, who joined EMU's faculty in 2000, spent two years preparing to offer the course, The History of Technology, as a study-abroad opportunity. "There are very few graduate study-abroad programs available," said Pilato, who earned her doctorate in American Studies from Michigan State University. She plans to offer the course again in the spring of 2006.

Some of her recent publications include a book and scholarly articles on 19th century American women inventors. With the support of EMU's Office of Research Development, the College of Technology and its School of Technology Studies, she has written National Science Foundation grants and is currently writing a National Endowment for Humanities grant to broaden teaching and learning opportunities for EMU students in understanding the experiences of women inventors and their contributions to the history of technology.

These opportunities are incorporated in her Technology, Gender, and Pop Culture course as well as her History of Technology course. Almost every Saturday during fall and winter semesters, Pilato and her students can be found at The Henry Ford museum complex in Dearborn, visiting Thomas Edison's Menlo Park in Greenfield Village or utilizing artifacts in the Benson Ford Research Center.