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Transdisciplinary Research Colloquia

Members of West Virginia University, local nonprofits, government agencies and community stakeholders are invited to WVU’s first transdisciplinary research colloquia, held over a series of virtual lectures this spring.

Transdisciplinary research is a form of research that transcends disciplinary boundaries. One way it accomplishes this is by incorporating community based or other participatory approaches to research into its framework. Transdisciplinary research actively seeks to integrate non-academic partners as equal members of a project or team. No one academic discipline has the breadth, scope and knowledge to confront large or “wicked” social problems alone. But WVU researchers learning together with non-academic partners in government, industry, nonprofits and beyond can introduce new ideas, make sustainable change and develop innovative and holistic approaches to all forms of social inequity.

Register for the colloquia.

Message from Dean Dunaway

Gregory Dunaway in suit jacket and striped tie

"As dean of the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, I am delighted to support this colloquia on transdisciplinary research. As we apply knowledge to understand critical challenges of human societies and the human condition we increasingly need to traverse traditional boundaries of disciplinary orthodoxy and promote synthesis of fields of academic inquiry. The Eberly College is a perfect proving ground for bringing disparate ideas, methodologies and applications together in order better understand phenomena and to solve problems. By fostering these initiatives I firmly believe that we are responding to the needs of both our students and to wider communities. In this way we answer the call of our land-grant mission.

"I encourage you to take advantage of this excellent series of presentations. This series will serve as springboard for our college to introduce a new collaborative research initiative: Research without Borders."

—Gregory Dunaway, PhD

Colloquia Schedule

Schedule is subject to change. All colloquia will be held using Zoom, and registered participants will receive information and passwords prior to each event.

The Origins and Importance of Transdisciplinary Research
Wednesday, March 17, 12-1:15 p.m.
Featuring Christian Pohl, PhD, Professor of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology

Transdisciplinary Research, Transformational Learning and Transformative Science: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions Revisited
Wednesday, April 7, 12-1:15 p.m.
Featuring Jeanne M. Fair, PhD, Deputy Group Leader for the Biosecurity and Public Health Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Transdisciplinary Research: Deconstructing Academic Silos
Wednesday, April 14, 12-1:15 p.m.
Featuring Andrew Vosko, PhD, Associate Provost and Director of Transdisciplinary Studies, Claremont Graduate University

There Are 'Problems' and Then There Are 'Wicked Problems': Workshop
Wednesday, April 21, 12-2 p.m.
Featuring Timothy Chapin, PhD, Dean of the College of Sciences and Public Policy and Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, Florida State University

Sponsors