A Revolution in the Creation of Scientific Workplaces – Scientific American

Scientific research is undergoing a transformational change. Highly specialized gene therapies now cure once incurable cancers. Personalized medicine and big data help doctors treat and prevent diseases better than ever before. The ever-advancing technologies behind these breakthroughs are driving a new paradigm of cutting-edge, integrated research across multiple fields and industries that have been historically distinct disciplines. Many have defined this shift as the “convergence revolution”—one that shares methods and ideas from chemists, mathematicians, economists, computer scientists, biologists, physicists, engineers and more to improve the lives of millions—if not billions—of people.

Many initiatives are underway to expand awareness and encourage more scientists to adopt the convergence model of research. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has identified convergence research as one of its “10 Big Ideas” for the agency and is creating a solicitation process to encourage convergence in a subset of its research and center awards. The National Academies’ Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable and the National Academy of Sciences have held formal workshops on the topic.