"No one discipline or department can do it all. The great challenges before us today do not conform to tidy academic categories; indeed, their scale and complexity defy any single field of study."

James D. Plummer
The Frederick Emmons Terman Dean
of the School of Engineering
The John M. Fluke Professor
in Electrical Engineering

Although the three initiatives in human health, environmental sustainability, and international affairs are our largest and broadest multidisciplinary efforts, there are other significant activities occurring throughout the university that are also aimed at seeking solutions to societal problems and improving the world around us. Some of these are based in one school, while others include two or more schools. Most involve collaborative research and scholarship from several disciplines, underscoring the importance of approaching today's complex challenges from multiple perspectives. These efforts are growing across campus and, as a few current examples demonstrate, span a diverse set of issues.

Discover
more
about
multidisciplinary research across the university on the Stanford StoryBank.

Stanford on iTunes U offers a wide range of Stanford Challenge–related digital audio, including programs about Multidisciplinary Research Across the University. Requires iTunes. More >>