Program description

The Inter-Disciplinary Experimentation And Scholarship (IDEAS) Program is an unique research program that applies paradigms from biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics to investigate complex, multifaceted, and/or nonlinear phenomena. This interdisciplinary approach to understanding complex problems requires students to master critical concepts from multiple disciplines. Furthermore, the experimental approaches encourage researchers and students to reach beyond the traditional model of solving problems using the principles and technologies within a single discipline.

Our mission

The mission of the Inter-Disciplinary Experimentation And Scholarship (IDEAS) program is to foster research and student development through the following objectives: to promote research collaborations between scientific disciplines that will create novel learning and training environments customized to advance our knowledge of complex scientific questions; and to encourage students to develop beyond the limits of any single discipline by achieving a balanced scientific cross training from several scientific disciplines simultaneously.

Target Milestones

	Foster research collaborations with other institutions around the world
	Achieve a nationally-competitive publication record
	Sustain consistent extramural funding
	Develop into a new graduate program at NSU
	Found a research institute at NSU
	Host an annually recurring symposium

History

In October of 2002, a chemist, a physicist, and a biologist from NSU were discussing their research interests at a campus careers fair. Upon realizing their over-lapping interests and the potential growth of their respective projects through a collaborative effort, the three began to meet regularly to develop a joint research project. In the course of these meetings, the need for an undergraduate program that promotes interdisciplinary science was realized. The IDEAS program was conceived with the intention of identifying students and faculty who are motivated and capable of conducting multi-faceted research projects.

In February of 2003, the IDEAS, Drs. Ludu, Fry, and Hutchings received the unanimous support of the Dean of the College of Science and Technology, each respective department, and the President of NSU, Dr. Randall Webb. Since March of 2003, the IDEAS program has rapidly developed into a fruitful program for both faculty and students. There currently 4 students being supported by IDEAS/JOVE scholarships each semester, and there are an additional 10 unfunded student assistants working on the 3 different IDEAS research projects."

The IDEAS program is currently seeking extramural funding to increase the impact the program has on NSU faculty and students. In fact, the IDEAS faculty members have submitted requests for more than $1.5 million in funding in the last nine months, and will continue to request extramural funds to support research in interdisciplinary science as opportunities arise.

Two historic landmarks have recently occurred for the IDEAS program. The first is the funding of a worldwide interdisciplinary science symposium to be held at NSU in the Fall of 2004. It is expected that over 150 leading scientists and students from around the world will attend the 3-4 day symposium. The second landmark was the dissemination of the first scientific manuscript co-authored by the IDEAS founders. This article regarding the analysis and modeling of flagellar movement combines the most current technologies in analytical chemistry, molecular biology, and theoretical physics to describe biomechanical/biophysical properties of a flagellum. The article can be viewed at (insert link to Xiv/Ar\etc).
As the IDEAS program continues to grow and impact the NSU science community, we will periodically update our history. (last updated 2/10/04)