About the series
Convergence is understood to require integration from multiple fields. But what is “integration”? How is it achieved? What facilitates or impedes it in the research process? These questions are among those we addressed as we followed extended problem-solving processes in four pioneering research labs in the bioengineering sciences as researchers developed novel modeling practices (in vitro and computational) in order to understand and control complex biological systems. We characterized these labs as “adaptive problem spaces” where different kinds of interdisciplinary systems form as researchers adapt concepts, methods, materials, and epistemic norms and values to cross-disciplinary problems. Moreover, researchers, themselves, are transformed as they learn to address these problems from different perspectives. This presentation will provide an overview and discuss specific findings about the nature and processes of interdisciplinary integration and the characteristics we identify as important to cultivate in the education of convergence researchers.
Join us for the presentation by Dr. Nancy J. Nersessian, Regents’ Professor of Cognitive Science (Emerita), Georgia Institute of Technology and Research Associate, Harvard University.
