The Institute for Advanced Study was recently highlighted by the University of Minnesota in communications announcing that the U of M was ranked the top public university worldwide and sixth overall in the Times Higher Education’s first-ever Interdisciplinary Science Rankings (ISR). The IAS was featured alongside six other interdisciplinary centers across the U of M system that contribute to this top ranking.
As society’s pressing problems have become more complex in the 21st century, interdisciplinary research has grown tremendously in importance. Specialists in diverse fields must learn to communicate and collaborate effectively outside of their disciplines to provide relevant solutions.
“The greatest challenges impacting our people and our communities can only be solved by working differently—by working across traditional academic siloes. This is where the University of Minnesota truly excels,” said President Rebecca Cunningham. “The U of M is a national leader in interdisciplinary collaboration. Our teams are working across fields to generate new frontiers of knowledge, spark new innovations and discoveries, and find solutions that drive the health and prosperity of our society.”
The ISR measured university performance in three areas: inputs (funding); process (measures of success, facilities, administrative support and promotion); and outputs (publications, research quality and reputation).
Now approaching its twentieth year, the IAS bridges the University and broader community, providing funding for faculty research, interdisciplinary collaborative research, and public programming, as well as a range of other support for faculty, staff, students, the general public, and community partners. The IAS has long been known as an incubator for research and innovation that may otherwise be difficult to achieve within departmental and collegiate structures. Our staff has been lauded for their love of forging unexpected connections and providing unparalleled administrative support, and our offices provide a rare space for IAS affiliates to collaborate across backgrounds, ranks, and standings and for imagination and research to expand unfettered without distraction or the immediate pressure of a standard outcome.
The IAS is also home to Open Rivers: Rethinking Water, Place, and Community, an open-access journal of interdisciplinary public scholarship by scholars, practitioners, and community members that reaches readers worldwide. Open Rivers also offers extensive mentorship of graduate students in publishing and public scholarship through its Graduate Student Council, workshops, and assistantships.
“At the University of Minnesota, we have created interdisciplinary centers, institutes, and academic programs that incentivize leading scholars, postdocs, and students in different fields to work together to tackle complex societal, environmental, and industrial challenges,” said Shashank Priya, vice president for Research and Innovation.
Featured Interdisciplinary Science Programs and Projects at the Institute for Advanced Study
Feature image courtesy of Kate Giannini, via Open Rivers, Issue 27: Fall 2024, “Fluid Impressions: Connecting Data and Storytelling in Iowa’s Watersheds.” The authors with Dick Sloane on his farm in Brandon, Iowa. From left to right: Richard Frailing, Javier Espinosa, Ellen Oliver, Kaden St Onge, Munachim Amah, Dick Sloane, Clara Reynen, Eric Gidal.