Ohhhhhhhhhh we are so interdisciplinary

Why is this interdisciplinary?

Usually one may consider it as a problem based approach. Different people use different definitions (see below), however. For example, we used nanofabrication techniques and surface science measuring techniques to study a catalysis problem. Yes, this was only doable for us as collaboration with a national lab.

(Ref. e.g. Rim effects in the adsorption of CO2 on silica supported copper oxide clusters - utilizing electron beam lithography, Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 116 (2012) 18930-18936, by J. Shan, A. Chakradhar, M. Komarneni, U. Burghaus)

Similarly stochastic techniques, historically first developed in solid state physics, were applied to a surface problem (cross-disciplinary), again to tackle a catalysis problem (interdisciplinary). The active sites in methanol synthesis were the topic. This was collaboration with theoreticians.

(Ref. dsorption dynamics of CO2 on Cu(110): a molecular beam study, Surface Science 600 (2006) 583-590,
by S. Funk, B. Hokkanen , J. Wang, U. Burghaus (NDSU), G. Bozzolo (Ohio Aerospace Institute and NASA Glenn Research Center), J.E. Garcés (Centro Atómico Bariloche, CNEA, 8400 Bariloche, Argentina)

Samples made by an inorganics/electro-chemistry team were studied with surface science techniques (vacuum) in order to develop a new hydrodesulphurization catalyst. We did set up a synthesis-characterization loop to improve on catalyst performance. Finally, we used catalysis measuring techniques (powders, ambient pressure) to test the new catalyst. Could we have made the sample with surface science techniques alone? Nope. Could we have optimized the catalyst without surface science? Perhaps. Is that a new approach? Nope.

(Ref. Characterization of Ni coated WS2 nanotubes for hydrodesulfurization catalysis, Israel Journal of Chemistry, 52 (2012) 1053 -1062, by Mallikharjuna Rao Komarneni, Z.Yu, U. Burghaus, Yulia Tsverina, A. Zak, Yishay Feldman, Reshef Tenne,

patent application pending). Collaboration with Weizmann Inst., Israel.

Together with a NASA scientist (a geologist by training, I think) we looked at water adsorption on simulated moon dust samples. The final goal was to understand whether water may exist in deep moon craters and what reaction products (residual) may be found if there would have been water at some point.

(Ref. Adsorption of water on JSC-1A (simulated moon dust samples) - a surface science study, Surface and Interface Analysis 40 (2008) 1423-29, by J. Goering, Shweta Sah, U. Burghaus (NDSU)and K.W. Street, Jr. (NASA-Glenn) , NASA internal report see NASA TM-2008-215279)

It must have been 10 years ago when I started to submit interdisciplinary proposals, together e.g. with chemical engineers and theoretician. Do we now get 3-times more money? Nope. We just solve one problem. If you need 3 buddies to solve one problem ... well... your problem ...

By the way, I am a physicist working at a chemistry department. Is that interdisciplinary? Who cares - we solve (sometimes) problems (perhaps).

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