Convergence research

Last updated

Convergence research aims to solve complex problems employing transdisciplinarity. [1] While academic disciplines are useful for identifying and conveying coherent bodies of knowledge, some problems require collaboration among disciplines, including both enhanced understanding of scientific phenomena as well as resolving social issues. The two defining characteristics of convergence research include: 1) the nature of the problem, and 2) the collaboration among disciplines.

Contents

Definition

In 2002, it was published the foundational report "Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance: Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Information Technology, and Cognitive Science" (Roco et al. 2002 and 2003) [2] and article "Coherence and Divergence of Megatrends in Science and Engineering" (Roco MC, 2002), [3] followed by the international report "Convergence of Knowledge, Technology and Society: Beyond Convergence of Nano-Bio- Info-Cognitive Technologies" (Roco et al. 2013) [4] and "Principles and Methods that Facilitate Convergence" (Roco 2016). [5]

In 2016, convergence research was identified by the National Science Foundation as one of 10 Big Idea's for future investments. [6] As defined by NSF, convergence research has two primary characteristics, namely:

National Research Council published a report on "Convergence: Facilitating Transdisciplinary Integration of Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Engineering, and Beyond" in 2014. [8]

An illustration of implementing convergence principles to the National Nanotechnology Initiative [9] is described in [10] in 2013.

An illustration of application of convergence to health, science and engineering research is described in [11] in 2016.

Examples of convergence research

Biomedicine

Advancing healthcare and promoting wellness to the point of providing personalized medicine will increase health and reduce costs for everyone. [12] While recognizing the potential benefits of personalized medicine, critics cite the importance of maintaining investments in public health as highlighted by the approaches to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. [13]

Cyber-physical systems

The internet of things allows all people, machines, and infrastructure to be monitored, maintained, and operated in real-time, everywhere. Because the United States Government is one of the largest user of "things", cybersecurity is critical to any effective system. [14]

STEMpathy

Jobs that utilize skills in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to provide care for human welfare through the use of empathy have been described as creating value with "hired hearts". [15] Thomas Friedman coined the term "STEMpathy" to describe these jobs. [16]

Sustainability

Beyond recycling, the goal of achieving zero waste means designing a closed loop of the material and energy necessary to operate the built environment. Individuals and organizations, including corporations and governments, increasingly are committing to achieving zero waste. [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nanotechnology</span> Field of science involving control of matter on atomic and (supra)molecular scales

Nanotechnology was defined by the National Nanotechnology Initiative as the manipulation of matter with at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometers (nm). At this scale, commonly known as the nanoscale, surface area and quantum mechanical effects become important in describing properties of matter. The definition of nanotechnology is inclusive of all types of research and technologies that deal with these special properties. It is therefore common to see the plural form "nanotechnologies" as well as "nanoscale technologies" to refer to the broad range of research and applications whose common trait is size. An earlier description of nanotechnology referred to the particular technological goal of precisely manipulating atoms and molecules for fabrication of macroscale products, also now referred to as molecular nanotechnology.

Nanomedicine is the medical application of nanotechnology. Nanomedicine ranges from the medical applications of nanomaterials and biological devices, to nanoelectronic biosensors, and even possible future applications of molecular nanotechnology such as biological machines. Current problems for nanomedicine involve understanding the issues related to toxicity and environmental impact of nanoscale materials.

Technological convergence is the tendency for technologies that were originally unrelated to become more closely integrated and even unified as they develop and advance. For example, watches, telephones, television, computers, and social media platforms began as separate and mostly unrelated technologies, but have converged in many ways into an interrelated telecommunication, media, and technology industry.

The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) is a research and development initiative which provides a framework to coordinate nanoscale research and resources among United States federal government agencies and departments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nanobiotechnology</span> Intersection of nanotechnology and biology

Nanobiotechnology, bionanotechnology, and nanobiology are terms that refer to the intersection of nanotechnology and biology. Given that the subject is one that has only emerged very recently, bionanotechnology and nanobiotechnology serve as blanket terms for various related technologies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Korea Institute of Science and Technology</span> Multi-disciplinary research institute in Seoul, South Korea

The Korea Institute of Science and Technology is a multi-disciplinary research institute located in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1966, it was the first multi-disciplinary scientific research institute in Korea and has contributed significantly to the economic development of the country, particularly during the years of accelerated growth in the 1970s and 1980s. It has a research staff of over 1,800 research scientists, visiting scientists, fellows and trainees, and foreign scientists involved in basic research in various fields of science and technology.

Transdisciplinarity connotes a research strategy that crosses disciplinary boundaries to create a holistic approach. It applies to research efforts focused on problems that cross the boundaries of two or more disciplines, such as research on effective information systems for biomedical research, and can refer to concepts or methods that were originally developed by one discipline, but are now used by several others, such as ethnography, a field research method originally developed in anthropology but now widely used by other disciplines. The Belmont Forum elaborated that a transdisciplinary approach is enabling inputs and scoping across scientific and non-scientific stakeholder communities and facilitating a systemic way of addressing a challenge. This includes initiatives that support the capacity building required for the successful transdisciplinary formulation and implementation of research actions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance</span>

"Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance" (CTIHP) is a 2002 report commissioned by the U.S. National Science Foundation and Department of Commerce. The report contains descriptions and commentaries on the state of the science and technology of the combined fields of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and cognitive science (NBIC) by major contributors to these fields. Potential uses of these technologies in improving health and overcoming disability are discussed in the report, as well as ongoing work on planned applications of human enhancement technologies in the military and in rationalization of the human-machine interface in industrial settings.

Nanomanufacturing is both the production of nanoscaled materials, which can be powders or fluids, and the manufacturing of parts "bottom up" from nanoscaled materials or "top down" in smallest steps for high precision, used in several technologies such as laser ablation, etching and others. Nanomanufacturing differs from molecular manufacturing, which is the manufacture of complex, nanoscale structures by means of nonbiological mechanosynthesis.

The history of nanotechnology traces the development of the concepts and experimental work falling under the broad category of nanotechnology. Although nanotechnology is a relatively recent development in scientific research, the development of its central concepts happened over a longer period of time. The emergence of nanotechnology in the 1980s was caused by the convergence of experimental advances such as the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope in 1981 and the discovery of fullerenes in 1985, with the elucidation and popularization of a conceptual framework for the goals of nanotechnology beginning with the 1986 publication of the book Engines of Creation. The field was subject to growing public awareness and controversy in the early 2000s, with prominent debates about both its potential implications as well as the feasibility of the applications envisioned by advocates of molecular nanotechnology, and with governments moving to promote and fund research into nanotechnology. The early 2000s also saw the beginnings of commercial applications of nanotechnology, although these were limited to bulk applications of nanomaterials rather than the transformative applications envisioned by the field.

The impact of nanotechnology extends from its medical, ethical, mental, legal and environmental applications, to fields such as engineering, biology, chemistry, computing, materials science, and communications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Sims Bainbridge</span> American sociologist (born 1940)

William Sims Bainbridge is an American sociologist who currently resides in Virginia. He is co-director of Cyber-Human Systems at the National Science Foundation (NSF). He is the first Senior Fellow to be appointed by the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies. Bainbridge is most well known for his work on the sociology of religion. Recently he has published work studying the sociology of video gaming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chad Mirkin</span> American chemist

Chad Alexander Mirkin is an American chemist. He is the George B. Rathmann professor of chemistry, professor of medicine, professor of materials science and engineering, professor of biomedical engineering, and professor of chemical and biological engineering, and director of the International Institute for Nanotechnology and Center for Nanofabrication and Molecular Self-Assembly at Northwestern University.

In 2007, productive nanosystems were defined as functional nanoscale systems that make atomically-specified structures and devices under programmatic control, i.e., performing atomically precise manufacturing. As of 2015, such devices were only hypothetical, and productive nanosystems represented a more advanced approach among several to perform Atomically Precise Manufacturing. A workshop on Integrated Nanosystems for Atomically Precise Manufacturing was held by the Department of Energy in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mihail Roco</span>

Mihail C. Roco is the founding chair of the US National Science and Technology Council subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering and Technology (NSET), and is Senior Advisor for Science and Engineering, including Nanotechnology, at the National Science Foundation. He is also the editor in chief of the Journal of Nanoparticle Research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Center of Excellence in Nanotechnology</span>

The Center of Excellence (CoE) in Nanotechnology is located at the Asian Institute of Technology campus. It is one of the eight centers of excellence in Thailand.

Heart nanotechnology is the "Engineering of functional systems at the molecular scale".

IEEE Life Sciences is an initiative launched by IEEE to promote the advancement of life sciences and supporting technologies, and to provide expertise and resources to individuals and enterprises involved in the various disciplines falling under the life sciences umbrella. IEEE Life Sciences provides access to a range of resources, including professional conferences, continuing education courses, publications, and standards. It is based in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Health Web Science (HWS) is a sub-discipline of Web Science that examines the interplay between health sciences, health and well-being, and the World Wide Web. It assumes that each domain influences the others. HWS thus complements and overlaps with Medicine 2.0. Research has uncovered emergent properties that arise as individuals interact with each other, with healthcare providers and with the Web itself.

Ethics of nanotechnology is the study of the ethical issues emerging from advances in nanotechnology and its impacts.

References

  1. ↑ Kaiser, Jocelyn (2011-01-11). "MIT Calls for More 'Convergence' in Research". Science. Washington, DC, USA: American Association for the Advancement of Science. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
  2. ↑ Roco, Mihail C.; Bainbridge, William Sims, eds. (2003). "Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance". SpringerLink. doi:10.1007/978-94-017-0359-8.
  3. ↑ Roco MC, Coherence and Divergence of Megatrends in Science and Engineering, Journal of Nanoparticle Research 4, no. 1 (2002): 9-19
  4. ↑ Roco, Mihail C.; Bainbridge, William S.; Tonn, Bruce; Whitesides, George, eds. (2013). "Convergence of Knowledge, Technology and Society". Science Policy Reports. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-02204-8. ISSN   2213-1965.
  5. ↑ Bainbridge, William Sims; Roco, Mihail C., eds. (2016). Handbook of Science and Technology Convergence. Cham: Springer International Publishing. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-07052-0. ISBN   978-3-319-07051-3.
  6. ↑ Schwarber, Adria (2020-10-07). "FY21 Budget Outlook: National Science Foundation". FYI Science Policy News from API. Washington, DC, USA: American Institute of Physics. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
  7. ↑ "Convergence Research at NSF". National Science Foundation. 2016.
  8. ↑ Convergence: Facilitating Transdisciplinary Integration of Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Engineering, and Beyond, National Research Council 2014.
  9. ↑ National Nanotechnology Initiative portal, www.nano.gov.
  10. ↑ Roco MC and Bainbridge WS, The New World of Discovery, Invention, and Innovation: Convergence of Knowledge, Technology, and Society. Journal of Nanoparticle Research 15, no. 9 (2013): 1-17
  11. ↑ "2016 Report". The Convergence Revolution. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
  12. ↑ Regalado, Antonio (2020-04-27). "Hyper-personalized medicine". MIT Technology Review. Boston, MA, USA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
  13. ↑ Marcus, Amy Dockser (2020-05-08). "Covid-19 Raises Questions About the Value of Personalized Medicine". Wall Street Journal. New York, NY, USA. Retrieved 2017-09-02.
  14. ↑ "Congress Passes The Internet Of Things (IoT) Cybersecurity Improvement Act". JD Supra. 2020-12-15. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
  15. ↑ Seidman, Dov (2011). How: Why How We Do Anything Means Everything. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. p. 384. ISBN   978-1118106372.
  16. ↑ "From Hands to Heads to Hearts". The New York Times. 2017-01-04. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  17. ↑ O'Neill, Clarie (2020-12-29). "New Year's Resolutions for the Planet". New York Times. New York, NY, USA. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.