What and Why: Convergence Research

Modern challenges of today create the need for more efficient and effective research to tackle them. By what means are we achieving this? Convergence research is how. It’s been elevated as one of the National Science Foundations 10 Big Ideas, and it is the foundation that the STEPS Center has been built upon. In this episode, we want to elaborate on the fine details of convergence research. We’ll investigate the technical definition, the reason it’s so important, and what it looks like in practice. As we do so, we’ll hear from several members of the STEPS community, researchers and scholars alike! By the end, we hope to provide a good understanding of what convergence research is, and why we appreciate it so much.  Hosted by Alison Deviney and George Hotelling  Featuring Jacob Jones, Jan Genzer, Shwetha Delanthamajalu, Jessica Deaver, Lucas Crane, Kim Bourne, Jay Rickabaugh, and Christine Hendren.  NSF’s page on Convergence Research:  https://new.nsf.gov/funding/learn/research-types/learn-about-convergence-research#characteristics Transcript Link to the background music: https://pixabay.com/music/funk-energetic-funky-groove-138634/