Radical Collaboration

Cornell faculty are reaching across disciplines to tackle society’s most complex challenges and to make breakthrough discoveries. These radical collaborations—collisions of thoughts and perspectives from vastly different fields—lead to unexpected and unconventional solutions and deepen our thinking.


Veterinarian ecologist to bolster pandemic prevention efforts

Scholar who studies cross-species pathogen spillover to join the College of Veterinary Medicine and become a Cornell Atkinson Scholar.   

Around Cornell

Swelling colloids could fix short circuits in geothermal wells

Swelling colloids – mixtures, such as milk and paint, in which particles are suspended in a substance and which can grow up to 100 times larger under certain temperatures – could be used to fix flow pathways in underground geothermal systems, a problem that has hobbled investment in geothermal energy.

Center for Immunology connects Cornell strengths

The center, with more than 120 faculty members, builds on the multidisciplinary nature of research into the immune system, with links between infection biology, vaccine development, genetics, genomics, malignancy and biomedical engineering.

$1M USDA grant supports digital agriculture integration

A $1 million grant supports a project to integrate and analyze agricultural data from aerial drones, ground robots, satellites and mobile apps, to benefit crop breeders, farmers and consumers.

Cross-college researchers unravel mummy bird mystery

Master’s student Carol Anne Barsody is working with an array of interdisciplinary collaborators to explore the origins of a mummified bird and create a multisensory exhibition that rethinks the way ancient artifacts are presented in museums.

Radical Collaboration initiative adds AI, quantum, design tech

Artificial Intelligence, Design + Technology and Quantum Science and Technology will become part of “Radical Collaboration Drives Discovery,” bringing to 10 the number of initiatives in the provost office’s five-year-old program.

Staff News

Teams take a crack at world food issues at digital ag hackathon

Students from 28 fields across six different schools gathered at the fourth annual Digital Agriculture Hackathon, March 11-13, to find solutions to global food system issues while competing for cash prizes.

Collaboration is a good fit for wearable sensor startup

A Cornell startup is working with the Performance Apparel Design Lab to take its wearable sensor technology, which can track the movement of athletes, and use it to monitor pilots undergoing high-gravitational-force training.

Virtual reality farm tour expands access to urban agriculture

Cornell researchers have created the most advanced virtual reality urban farm tour ever made, an online learning experience that promises to transport urban and rural farmers to New York City’s Red Hook Farms without ever leaving home.