Across the globe, billions of people rely on traditional open pit fires to prepare food. Unfortunately, this popular cooking method has harmful implications related to health, climate change, and the environment. With the intent to research and improve the performance of biomass cookstoves, an indoor facility was designed and built to burn and test cookstoves. The landscape of cookstove research - past, present, and future - will be reviewed and presented. Expertise sought from engineers and social scientists will be discussed, as the improvement of cookstove technology requires careful consideration of social and cultural practices. Replicating authentic cookstove use during testing, with and without instrumentation, will provide integral insight into the development of clean and efficient biomass cookstoves. Standing at the intersection of engineering and liberal arts, Union College is looking to grow its experimental capabilities in the area of cookstove research, especially given the interdisciplinary nature of the field.