About This Collection

Singular Strengths, Powerful Partnerships

Working from its position of strength in the disciplines and reaching beyond traditional academic boundaries to create exciting new research collaborations, the University of Pittsburgh is uniquely positioned to fulfill the mission of all great research universities—to engage in activities that advance learning by extending frontiers of knowledge and creative endeavor.

Since many important inquires are occurring at the intersection of various disciplines, it is becoming increasingly important for faculty researchers to work together in multidisciplinary teams to answer the complex questions of our times.

Cutting-edge scholarship and the growth ofknowledge depend upon discussion and debate, incorporating multiple perspectives, theories, and approaches. Pitt is ideally situated to do this kind of collaborative research, which fosters excellence throughout our academic community.

This publication celebrates the University of Pittsburgh’s achievements in multidisciplinary research by highlighting 12 areas of endeavor in which the University is a current or emerging leader.

This “Research Excellence” series was first published in the Pitt Chronicle between April 2003 and June 2004. While some artwork and photographs have been added, the text remains largely as it appeared at the time of original publication.

Philosophy at Pitt

Pitt is consistently recognized as having one of the top five philosophy and history and philosophy of science programs in the country. What characterizes Pitt’s approach is its leadership in working to bridge the gap between the arts and the sciences, encouraging the integration of both these disciplines in efforts to understand the human condition and the nature of knowledge. Read Article »

Computer Modeling

Pitt researchers are crafting complex computer models on subjects as diverse as water molecules and the economy, nanotubes and the cosmos. Newer fields of study, emerging as a result of the convergence of research and sophisticated computer simulation, include computational biology, bioinformatics, genomics, and proteomics. Pitt has a notable advantage in this area through access to the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center’s Lemieux, one of the fastest supercomputers in the world. Read Article »

International Studies

For more than three decades, Pitt has been a leader in advancing global dimensions in the arts, sciences, and professions. As a result, almost every school at Pitt has an international research component, from law and business to philosophy and anthropology, from engineering and English to economics. One of the ways Pitt develops a global perspective on studies conducted here is through its prestigious national centers of research, which are tied directly to major geographic regions around the world. Read Article »

Refiguring the Humanities

Rethinking America amidst the Americanization of global culture is one way to describe what is happening in many of Pitt’s humanities departments and programs, from English and film studies to history of art and architecture, music, theater, and world languages and literatures. Pitt scholars in these disciplines are studying contemporary culture—not only literature, music, and studio art, but movies, television, songs, images, speeches, performances, and public documents—in ways that promote new thinking, remembering, and understanding. Read Article »

Neuroscience

Pitt is building itself into an international leader in brain research and is recognized for a concentration of scientists and scholars who are doing stellar research into such areas as the roots of brain development, how the brain heals itself, and the relationship between mind and body. The Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, one of the top five such programs in the world, brings together collaborators from bioengineering, neurological surgery, rehabilitation science, and robotics. Read Article »

Aging

As one of the leading aging research universities in the country, Pitt receives more than $140 million for aging research across a broad range of disciplines. Our Institute for Aging includes a representative from every school in the University. Areas of research include the social and behavioral aspects of aging, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s research, and the study of healthy aging. Read Article »

Commercial Innovation

As part of its service mission, Pitt cooperates with industry and government to transfer knowledge in science, technology, and health care to the community. Toward that end, a newer effort at Pitt is an initiative aimed at providing entrepreneurial education, support, and outreach for faculty, staff, and student innovators in their development of commercial innovations. An early assessment shows the quality of invention disclosures to be much stronger as a result of this initiative. Read Article »

Bioengineering

Bioengineering research integrates physical, chemical, or mathematical sciences and engineering principles for the study of biology, medicine, behavior, or health. In 2002, the University of Pittsburgh ranked first in the nation in National Institutes of Health (NIH) bioengineering research grants. Research projects include ligament healing through Pitt’s Musculoskeletal Research Center and artificial organ development through the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Read Article »

Preparing a Nation

Public and international affairs, public health, medicine, law, and information sciences are all engaged in research on such issues as bioterrorism, homeland security, civil liberties, cyber security, and first response in times of disaster. Moreover, the new Center for Biosecurity is the result of the world’s leading biodefense research and analysis center, formerly at Johns Hopkins University, becoming part of the Pitt team. Pitt’s Center for National Preparedness was launched in 2004. Read Article »

Improving Our Schools

Pitt’s expertise in how children learn and how organizations can be changed has provided a strong basis for educational reform, both locally and nationwide. Researchers in education, neuroscience, business, law, and computer science fuse science with practice in their efforts to prepare educators and to help schools and school systems prepare students. Read Article »

Translational Medicine

It has always been Pitt’s mission to foster multidisciplinary collaboration and to promote translation of basic science research into the clinical setting. Such translational research includes effective approaches to cancer prevention, early diagnosis and treatment, focus on a number of areas affecting women’s health, advances in gene therapy, exploration of the potential for tissue engineering to repair damaged tissue and organs, and application of discoveries in the lab to significant advances in transplantation. Read Article »

Drug Discovery

Pitt solidified its place among the elite drug discovery universities in 2002, when the NIH awarded it almost $10 million to create a “chemical library”—one of only two such centers in the country—to build and purify large numbers of chemical compounds that could be used to discover new drug candidates. In the same year, Pitt was awarded a five-year grant to develop anticancer agents for testing in clinical trials. Some consider Pitt to be among the top five universities in the country for drug discovery. Read Article »

Nanoscience

The National Science Foundation predicts the market for nanotech products and services will reach $1 trillion in the next 10 years. Pitt created the Institute of NanoScience and Engineering to combine its strengths in chemistry, physics, and biology with those in engineering and the health sciences, and to provide researchers with ready access to each other’s work. Promising technologies range from sensors that detect physiological change in the body to “nanopores” that can sequester hazardous environmental pollutants. Read Article »

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