Interdisciplinary collaboration is a key driver of innovation.
Australian scientist Prof. Ivan Marusic emphasized this insight in his plenary talk at the Science Information Forum titled, “Complex Flows, Smart Systems: Rethinking Motion Through AI,” on July 8 at Gomez Hall, University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD).
Marusic is the Australian Academy of Science vice president and secretary for physical sciences, and University of Melbourne pro vice chancellor (research infrastructure). He is known for his groundbreaking research in the field of fluid mechanics, particularly on turbulence and drag reduction, and its impact on transport and energy efficiency and environmental sustainability.
“Talking to people in different fields really opens up your perspectives and invites different ways of thinking about things,” he explained. “In any complex problem, it’s about bringing all the resources that you have and really talking to people outside your field because that’s where I feel the best innovations all come from.”
He described opportunities for collaboration in his career as “rewarding” experiences. “I was able to learn all these wonderful new areas which I knew nothing about — but that’s why you collaborate. You can’t become the master of everything, but the right collaborations mean that collectively, you can do interesting things.”
UPD engineers and scientists were also part of the forum. Prof. Emeritus Guillermo Tabios III of the College of Engineering (CoE) discussed the practical applications of hydrology and hydraulics. CoE Asst. Prof. Julius Rhoan Lustro talked about the role of exact coherent states in turbulence in wall-bounded flows. College of Science Assoc. Prof. Emmanuel Soliman Garcia focused on the influence of ocean dynamics on observations of seafloor tectonics.
UP President Angelo Jimenez highlighted the forum as “the kind of convergence” the university must champion as it exemplified a “convergence not only across technologies but across disciplines and sectors.” He further said, “Through collaborations like this, we seek to break down silos and open new frontiers not only for academic inquiry, but also for sustainable development and inclusive progress.”
The forum was jointly organized by the UP Intelligent Systems Center, the National Academy of Science and Technology, and the UP Marine Science Institute.
