Advances in interdisciplinary research and teaching are critical to producing workable solutions to many of society's most pressing problems. "Fostering Interdisciplinary Inquiry: An Invitational Conference" will focus on policies and practices of academic institutions and is intended to foster institutional cooperation among the nation's top research universities, public and private, and to expand understanding of both opportunities and challenges in advancing interdisciplinary research, academic programs, teaching, and training. A key goal of the conference is to create a consortium for interdisciplinary transformation that will continue to advance progress on these important issues.

The University of Pennsylvania and Arizona State University are teaming up on technology transfer in a three-year experiment that will allow each to take advantage of the other’s expertise in commercializing the findings of their researchers.