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.


Ancient dirty dishes reveal decades of questionable findings

An interdisciplinary team of researchers determined that organic residues of plant oils are poorly preserved in calcareous soils from the Mediterranean, leading decades of archaeologists to likely misidentify olive oil in ceramic artifacts.

Cornell Tech launches pre-college Summer Innovation Intensives for future tech leaders

The three-week program is designed to give students a head start on college-level learning while tackling real-world challenges through technology.

Around Cornell

Combining humanities and tech for research gains

An interdisciplinary project involving faculty, staff and graduate students is sparking collaborations among those interested in computational, digital and data-driven approaches to the study of history, languages and culture.

Around Cornell

Startup bets their superfast microbe can rewrite biotech 

Researchers develop a new bacterium that can absorb DNA directly from its surroundings and incorporate it into its own genetic code.

Under Pressure: How Cornell's synchrotron helped reveal hidden differences in our DNA packaging

Using high-pressure X-ray scattering at CHESS, researchers uncovered key structural differences between conventional and centromeric nucleosomes, revealing how our DNA remains organized and resilient under extreme stress.

Around Cornell

Cornell Tech hosts first-ever summit on disability, access, and AI

The summit brought together researchers, technologists, and community advocates to explore how disability and accessibility intersect with innovation.

Around Cornell

New faculty Andrew Owens makes AI that sees, hears, and feels

Andrew Owens wants computers to learn like humans do — by watching, listening, and feeling the world around them.

Around Cornell

Students' color-changing tomato reaches national contest finals

An invention developed by two graduate students turns engineered tomato plants red when soil nitrogen levels are low. 

New faculty Tianyi Chen is engineering AI to make smarter and balanced decisions

Tianyi Chen is pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence by asking a pressing question: What if AI could be engineered not just to optimize for a single outcome, but to make smarter, more balanced decisions — much like humans do?

Around Cornell