A group of graduate students, including a number from the college, founded the National Interdisciplinary Research Honor Society at Virginia Tech, the first of its kind in the U.S. The society’s goal is to encourage communication between students of different disciplines and to promote new interdisciplinary research. “We are a very diverse group across several colleges and several nationalities,” said Tammy Parece, a geospatial and environmental analysis doctoral student and chair of the society’s membership committee.

The society members plan to utilize their website (www.idrsociety.org) for easier communication and are working on a forum where people from various disciplines — not only other students, but people around the world — can come together for online discussions. “You have access to different countries, different perspectives, and different colleges, not only in the United States. You may have access to research that’s being done, or has been done, in other countries,” noted wood products doctoral student Johanna Madrigal.

“I think we are all outgoing researchers interested in guiding others who are having difficulty navigating the challenges of interdisciplinarity,” added Risa Pesapane, a fisheries and wildlife sciences master’s student. “We’re all happy to be a resource for others interested in interdisciplinary research by talking about our own disciplines and providing further resources within our departments through the communication network on our website.” The group hopes to start developing chapters in other universities around the country.

Contact: