I have spent my career as a university-based researcher. It is a privilege to be at a university because we get to choose what we want to work on. Obviously, we have to pitch our projects to generate resources, but we get a chance to work on some of the biggest problems society is faced with, including energy, food, and national security, and some of the biggest opportunities, such as electronics and 3D printing. We're focused on trying to improve the human condition, and we can take the long view. really a privilege to have that opportunity. Nothing captures the real value of that opportunity more for me and my students than the words of Henry Rosovsky, former dean of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University: Research is an expression of faith in the possibility of progress. The drive that leads scholars to study a topic has to include the belief that new things can be discovered, that newer can be better, and that greater depth of understanding is achievable. Research, especially academic research, is a form of optimism about the human condition. The challenge, and the opportunity, today is convergence, which I define as the fusion of life sciences, physical sciences, and engineering. challenging to pursue convergence in the university setting because we're typically trying to do 21st-century science in an 18th-century organizational structure. ironic that the only place entropy does not seem to be in force is at universities: there's very little mixing between departments and there are a lot of silos. We end up working very hard to break down those silos and to facilitate internal connectivity. I would argue that today scientists need to think even beyond the sciences and engineering--convergence extends to the social sciences, the humanities, and even the performing arts. Nobody got this better than Steve Jobs: It's in Apple's DNA that technology alone is not enough; it's technology married with the liberal arts, married with the humanities that yields a result that makes our heart sing. that sort of convergence that I think is driving a lot of industry today. One of the questions I ask myself now is, can any executive leadership team today be successful without a designer on the executive team? And yet few companies have made that commitment. Along these lines, it's interesting to look at who Apple is hiring. Fortune Magazine made a list that provides some insight into where Apple is going as a company. Recent hires include the former CTO of Adobe, the Former CEOs of Yves Saint Laurent and Burberry, medical device scientists, and people thinking about non-pharmaceutical methods for controlling sleep. important to note that this convergence is not just about crossing disciplinary boundaries. also about developing cross-cultural understanding. I recently published an op-ed in Science Translational Medicine about this. (1) Those with different cultural backgrounds approach problems differently, and these different approaches must be respected. A student that has come from a background of poverty will think differently about solving problems than somebody who's grown up with a lot of money, for example. Both of those perspectives are really important to have around the table. Diversity is a fundamental tenet of innovation. We learn the most from those with whom we have the least in common. To maximize learning or to catalyze innovation, we need to create the necessary chemical potential, if you will. The greater that potential--the greater the diversity around the table, and hence the potential for fruitful reactions and interactions--the more opportunity there is, for learning and for invention. I think of this a lot when we are establishing design teams: it's not just disciplinary diversity but diversity in the broadest sense that provides the secret sauce for innovation. That's the context for the different work that has come through my group: our diversity, in disciplinary approaches and broader life backgrounds, enables convergence and drives invention and innovation. …