Collaboration across disciplines

Encourage faculty collaboration across disciplines and joint appointments... 

Borrego and Newswander (2008 124) use the term "cross-disciplinary collaborations which can manifest either in (1) multidisciplinary approaches or (2) truly interdisciplinary approaches. They describe multi-disciplinary collaboration as an experience where die joint work on a common problem leaves the parties involved unchanged whereas interdisciplinary collaboration interact in ways that may later on even result in new fields or disciplines. The authors also point out that mutual engagement and learning are important elements of integrative approaches that enhance successful collaborations across disciplines. Davis (1995) stresses that "truly interdisciplinary courses can help develop comprehensive perspectives (cf op.cit, 125, quoting Lattuca et al. 2004). 

Cooperation and collaboration across disciplines expand the intellectual freedom that people enjoy—the freedom to access the tools and capabilities to do one s work. The interface between information technology and the activities of chemists, chemical engineers, and allied disciplines is still in its infancy. The opportunity to build that architecture, which will revolutionize the future of the... 

As writing was completed for this Special Issue in 2007, the articles testify to the growth and vitality of the field due to refinements of modeling and theories, advancements in computational science, and collaboration across scientific disciplines. 

Scientific collaboration across institutional boundaries in the United States is extensive and continues to grow. According to the Science and Engineering (S E) Indicators 2004, the share of articles from multiple U.S. institutions increased from 48 percent in 1988 to 62 percent in 2001. Crosssector collaboration on papers in chemistry also grew significantly from 30 percent in 1988 to 50 percent in 2001. The overall level of collaboration is lower than for other disciplines such as, biomedical research, earth and space sciences, and physics (see Figure 4-1). 

Many additional examples of collaborative work were brought up during the workshop, and these are summarized in Appendix G (Interfaces). It is frequently difficult to identify the particular scientific accomplishment that have led to environmental improvements or enhanced environmental understanding, in large part because environmental studies are inherently multidisciplinary. Consequently, cooperation across disciplines—as described above and in Appendix G—will continue to be necessary to fully understand and solve environmental problems, so the list also represents research opportunities for the future. 

Workshop participants enumerated a variety of problems that currently inhibit effective collaborations, ranging from difficulty in communication across disciplines and the need for more cross-disciplinary educational programs to administrative barriers that inhibit research teams. Interdisciplinary activity in the academic environment would be enhanced by a reward structure that better recognizes the value of such collaborative efforts. 

In addition to learning across scientific disciplines, we should encourage collaboration across technical, business, and social sciences. Innovation requires individuals able to recognize how new knowledge could meet societal demands and translate potential into practice. That creates real and lasting value. 

When more people have access to the building blocks of innovation, rich new perspectives and diverse influences are injected into the creative process. People begin to think in an interdependent, collaborative way - across disciplines, and collaborating at the intersections between them. 

Successful implementation of the PAT framework will require cooperation and collaboration across scientific disciplines and divisions within an organization such as R D, manufacturing, quality, and information/knowledge management. Such... 

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