Cross-disciplinary research

Cross-Disciplinary Research Engineering Research Centers 3,638... 

I am very satisfied with my doctoral education because The faculty allowed me to grow and pursue knowledge in a very open way. The professors were marvelous and actively engaged in cross-disciplinary research. Although I was specializing in., I was exposed to some of the leading researchers inj(another chemistry specialty and another scientific discipline). The department was small enough so that I knew everyone. 

Cross-disciplinary research approaches need to build on an understanding of how different methods relate to their research world , and what this means. For example, if laboratory research, field trials, crop rotation experiments and on-farm research are compared, they differ in complexity, and subsequently in the conditions for experimentation and control, and thereby for replications or reproductions of phenomena. They also differ with respect to the need for ethical considerations. Furthermore, systemic approaches that include, for example, the human and social parts of the agricultural systems into their research world are often perceived as less scientific than conventional, analytical approaches, which have delimited their research worlds to exclude those aspects of reality. However, these obviously different approaches are not different in their potential for doing good science. This recognition can serve as a basis for a reflexive discussion of the focus and meaning conveyed by different research perspectives and the strengths and weaknesses of different research methods in cross-disciplinary research approaches. 

The long-standing problem of the polymer conformational transitions is an open issue of the cross-disciplinary research work and interest [1—4]. It is usually referred to as the Levinthal s paradox with an emphasis on the substantial discrepancy between the phenomenological data and the theoretical background of the issue [5]. The original Levinthal s analysis [5] has led to extensive search for the preferred pathways (trajectories) in the conformation space of a macromolecule. Recently, the problem is sharpened by the new approach that calls for the fiinnel-like form of the conformation space [6], probably offering the possibility to overcome the Levinthal s paradox. 

Overall, the future of computing systems offers rich opportunities for more itmovation by the engineering coimnunity, particnlarly for cross-disciplinary research that goes beyond traditional design boundaries. Significant improvements in the computing fabric enabled by these iimovations will also provide a foundation for itmovations in other disciplines. 

The information provided by such an assessment will provide federal funding agencies with a sound basis for planning their future investments in both disciplinary and cross-disciplinary research. 

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