Interdisciplinary Research Drivers and Serendipity Factor: An Applied Mechanics Perspective on Some Past Application Platforms

In recent years, interdisciplinary research has been the main focus of academia, research institutes, and industry.  Out of the many interdisciplinary research fields, Applied Mechanics continues to play an essential role due to its fundamental nature and its influence to many emerging fields.  The search for the appropriate interdisciplinary organization, either through a matrix organization or by a formal organization, has been a focus of concern within the Applied Mechanics leadership.  This paper represents an attempt to reflect on the lessons learned from the rise and fall of the field of Theoretical & Applied Mechanics at various universities and institutes around the world.  In looking through the historical development of the field of Applied Mechanics, we can gain a better understanding of the driving forces of interdisciplinary research organizations.  The collaborations and competition between the various disciplinary research institutes and the more traditional engineering/applied sciences departments will be briefly discussed.  Based on a series of research and development experiences using Nano-BioMEMS/NEMS, Smart Structures, and Electrets as application platforms, we will look at the theoretical architecture and corresponding applications to further strengthen our claim that successful interdisciplinary applied science research requires the establishment of strong industries.  We look at today’s perspective with an added serendipity factor.  This is to say that a prepared mind, derived from a well-trained background, along with an open mind connected to other collaborative research efforts, will know when to seize the moment as new innovative opportunities arise.  We can look on same examples from the past to obtain some hints on how to further foster today’s interdisciplinary research.  The influence of an interdisciplinary organizational structure, its teamwork collaborative framework as well as the influence of the internet which connects minds, are also discussed in detail to further advance future discussions