This is a past event.

This week we'll be joined by John Velat, director of MTU's Tribal Technical Assistance Program (TTAP) and staff in Civil & Environmental Engineering, who will lead a talk about interdisciplinary research, "Interdisciplinary Research is on Fire!"

Abstract:

Michigan Tech research capacity and experience have traditionally been focused on technological innovation and application, and with good reason! However, the need to develop interdisciplinary approaches for human-centered problems is becoming increasingly important to society, academia, and research sponsors. Whereas liberal arts universities may find it difficult to pivot their research to a greater emphasis on a combination of human and social research with technological prowess, Michigan Tech researchers need not look far for a ready mix of disciplines.

Interdisciplinary projects can be difficult to manage, complicated to assemble, and confusing for researchers working outside their fields. How do we increase interdisciplinary research projects that engage all of Michigan Tech’s disciplines to offer highly competitive proposals with uniquely broad approaches? This Brown Bag talk will introduce a representative request for proposals (https://www.fema.gov/fire-prevention-safety-grants) that asks for interdisciplinary approaches to very human problems. The goals of this discussion are to brainstorm about building interdisciplinary research teams in general, and to invite participation in proposal development and eventual implementation for this and other sponsors.