Interdisciplinary collaboration

All of the areas of research discussed in this chapter will require interdisciplinary collaborations among chemists, engineers, biologists, physicists, and materials scientists. This critical area of national need should be the catalyst for breaking down disciplinary barriers and promoting interaction among scientific and engineering communities. 

Theme of conference Chemistry as the Central Science and its Implementation in Future Research Fields emphasis on interdisciplinary collaborations. Scientists uses chemistry as a tool in various areas of research. 

On a more positive note, the concerted attempts of scientists over the past few decades to unravel the semiochemical communication of mice and especially the work on the MUPs of these animals, could well serve as an excellent example of how this type of research should be approached and of the benefits that can be reaped from interdisciplinary collaboration. 

In this breakout session the group addressed issues regarding interdisciplinary educational approaches. Some barriers to interdisciplinary collaboration are ... 

In interdisciplinary endeavors, department chairs have a number of administrative barriers that cause them to be reluctant to engage in partnerships (1) how to distribute expenses for necessary materials across departments (2) how to allocate the time commitment of faculty across departments (3) intellectual property issues and (4) the burden of adding electives in addition to core coursework. To overcome barriers in interdisciplinary endeavors, department must see the value in collaboration. A reward system to motivate these partnerships may encourage interdisciplinary collaboration and encourage departments to see the value in collaboration outside their departments, but other value propositions must also be identifled. 

Interdisciplinary approaches tend to be viewed differently by industry and academia. A high interest in interdisciplinary collaboration has been shown in industry. The participants believe that students may like working in teams for research purposes but dislike working in teams on graded classroom projects. 

This workshop focused on factors such as work processes, systems, and technologies that could enable and accelerate the pace of innovation and increase the yield of major innovations from work in the basic chemical sciences. More specifically, speakers identified teamwork, commitment, standardized portfolio management, clear goals, well-defined milestones, and effective technology transfer as some of the characteristics of innovative institutions and practices. Successful approaches to innovation have taken place in different environments and between different environments—despite infrastmcture and cultural differences, both interdisciplinary collaborations and collaborations between industry and academia have proven beneficial for all parties. Funding must also be available to promote innovation at stages of research often ignored. 

Furthermore, the photolytic responses are very rapid. For example, when natural sunlight was attenuated very rapidly, as by a severe thunderstorm, the rate of photolytic degradation of DOC to C02 declined precipitously (Fig. 5, upper), but the photolytic capacities of PAR declined more rapidly than did the effects of UV-B (Fig. 5, lower). The precise chemical degradation processes involved in photolysis of dissolved macromolecules, particularly the helical humic substances, represent a major void in our understanding. Interdisciplinary collaboration among chemists and biologists is essential to... 

Identification of clinically relevant projects conducted by appropriate professional organizations, encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration Support and encourage application of reference measurement systems by the IVD industry. 

It is at this point, when the supposed transuranium elements were out of the picture, that the problem was finally solved. It happened because the chemists were now in familiar territory, with elements of known chemistry and tested radiochemistry. When their findings contradicted the physics assumption of small nuclear changes, the discrepancy was apparent and had to be resolved. It can be argued that their interdisciplinary collaboration functioned best just when Meitner was physically separated from her Berlin colleagues, and it is ironic that their separation produced a correspondence that demonstrates how effective this collaboration was. 

It is important to underscore the depth of the institutional obstacles facing these scientist-activists. As noted in the previous section, their promotional texts cited numerous barriers to interdisciplinary collaboration. The scientific status of genetics added further to the problem. While fast gaining prominence in American life science, genetics circa 1970 was far from the powerful disci-... 

Thus the book presents the proceedings of all the papers presented and summarizes the recommendations made by the participants as to where future research support may be most effectively placed. It was emphasized in these recommendations that the interdisciplinary collaboration between photochemistry and photobiology had been quite successfully achieved in this European programme. There were both high quality basic research and practical benefits accruing from the work—these are elucidated in the report on proposed areas for future research. 

Macromolecular drugs hold great promise as novel therapeutics of several major disorders, e.g., cancer and cardiovascular disease. However, their use is limited by lack of efficient, safe, and specific delivery strategies. Successful development of such strategies requires interdisciplinary collaborations, which provide opportunities for the unexpected at the interface between different disciplines. Once available, macromolecular drugs will revolutionize the treatment of various diseases as well as provide novel diagnostic tools for the benefit of the patient. 

This book attempts to give a comprehensive account of all aspects of molecule structure and the stereochemical implications of the dynamics of the most important enzymic reactions. The editor hopes that the volume will not only be of interest to specialists, but will also provide general information useful to organic chemists, biochemists and molecular biologists. Future problems can only be resolved by close interdisciplinary collaboration of scientists in these various fields. 

The above examples of the unique possibilities of stereochemically fixed aromatic rings in multibridged, multilayered and multistepped hydrocarbon compounds show that these classes of compounds are most appropriate for the study of intramolecular, steric and electronic interactions, from which too little quantitative relations are known. Again, it follows that further synthetic approaches are not only possible, but also necessary for a more accurate differentiation and analysis of the frequently overlapping electronic and steric effects. More progress in this field is sure to be expected, above all when synthetic and spectroscopic chemists, and physicists adhere to interdisciplinary, collaborative work. 

Biomarkers have a key role, in both clinical practice and research, in the monitoring and evaluation of outcomes of interventions, both at individual and at population level. The fundamental need for interdisciplinary collaboration, in order to develop, qualify and properly utilise biomarkers, is widely recognised. Cancer and neurodegenerative diseases are cases in point. 

The world in which science is conducted has changed, and so have the skills necessary for scientists to function effectively. In a report published in 1995, essential skills and characteristics of scientists were addressed by The Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy (COSEPUP), which was a joint committee of the National Academy of Science, National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.The COSEPUP report states that a world of work that has become more interdisciplinary, collaborative, and global requires young people who are adaptable, flexible, as well as technically proficient.Subsequently, the 1996 report of the Research and Graduate Affairs Committee of the Amer-... 

The demand for researchers who focus on the clinical pharmaceutical sciences has exceeded the supply. Individuals graduating from CPS programs have secured successful careers within academic, industrial, and governmental institutions (Fig. 2). Academic institutions are major employers of CPSs within the clinical or basic science divisions in the various health-related schools. The CPSs unique blend of clinical and research skills allow these individuals to develop interdisciplinary collaborations and thus are aggressively sought by research... 

Altogether Gerald authored more than 200 research papers—about half of them from Edinburgh, and the others from his Canadian universities. Although the numerical balance is approximately even, the quality increased over the years, so that his Canadian work can be recognized as his best, and a fine exemplification of the benefits accruing from interdisciplinary collaboration. 

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