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18 interdisciplinary institutes cross school boundaries and foster collaboration. more

Building a brain: What does it take to make machines as smart as we are?

Computers will one day match our own mental agility, but getting to that point will require neuroscientists and engineers to reverse engineer our least understood organ – the brain.

Institutes

Stanford Bio-X, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute

Carla Shatz, Director of Stanford Bio-X

From learning languages to brain repair, "There's no way we could make progress without collaboration."

Students whose research bridges disciplines are prepared for a changing world. more

Promising approaches to global freshwater challenges

As the world's population grows, so does the demand for – and threat to – the planet's freshwater supply. Solutions will come from diverse research teams tackling those pressing challenges.

Institutes

Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford (FSI), Precourt Institute for Energy, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment

Daniel McFarland, Professor of Education

What drives collaboration? Location, funding and coffee.

Buildings that increase chance encounters draw faculty together around common problems: more

Collaborations drive discovery

Collaborations between Stanford and nearby SLAC National Accelerator laboratory probe everything from the most intricate molecular details of artwork or cellular structures to the origins of the universe and materials for better batteries.

Institutes

ChEM-H, Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (KIPAC), Precourt Institute for Energy, PULSE Institute for Ultrafast Energy Science, Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences (SIMES)

Grant Miller, Associate Professor of Medicine

Global health initiatives combine medicine, policy, economics, government ministries and NGOs. "It isn't easy, but the payoff is huge."

A culture of collaboration sparks innovative discoveries. more

Interdisciplinary research takes students beyond the classroom

Research that bridges disciplines helps students find their future path, whether it's diving deeper into academics or taking their passion and applying it to other careers.

Institutes

Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford (FSI), Stanford Bio-X, Stanford Humanities Center (SHC), Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment

Seven adjacent schools bring diverse faculty together. more

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