Fostering the Culture of Convergence in Research

Download or read book Fostering the Culture of Convergence in Research written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2019-06-07 with total page 83 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Convergence-based research approaches are critical in solving many scientific challenges, which frequently draw on large teams of collaborators from multiple disciplines. The 2014 report Convergence: Facilitating Transdisciplinary Integration of Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Engineering, and Beyond describes the term "convergence" as a multidisciplinary approach that melds divergent areas of expertise to form conclusions that are inaccessible otherwise. However, a convergence-based approach involves hybrid systems of people, buildings, and instruments, which pose complex structural and managerial challenges. In October 23â€"24, 2018, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a workshop to explore efforts to promote cultures that support convergence-based approaches to research. The 2014 report served as a foundation for this workshop, allowing participants to further explore convergence as a valuable and adaptable approach to organizing research. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.