By Katherine Solomonson, associate dean, Academic Affairs and Marilyn DeLong, associate dean, Resarch & Outreach

What could a clothing designer and a landscape architect have in common? A design historian and a rural sociologist? Or an interactive designer and an architect?

In the new College of Design, the convergence of seven distinct design-related disciplines makes it possible to take on research and design problems as diverse as ergonomic shoe design and sustainable land-use planning-and address them as interrelated issues.

Academic institutions have traditionally been structured around individual disciplines and their related knowledge systems and practices. Yet some of the most significant and innovative work in design and research today is occurring at the points where disparate disciplines intersect. The College of Design's goal is to create an environment that fosters productive connections across disciplines and to create a dynamic interplay between diverse disciplines, methodologies, and ways of framing the "burning questions" that ignite inquiry.

One of our strategies for achieving this environment is the "communities of interest." Communities of interest form as people from different fields come together to address issues and problems of mutual concern through collaborative, interdisciplinary learning, design, or research. Within the College of Design there are already numerous affinities among the disciplines that will provide the foundation for strong and dynamic communities of interest.

As one of only a small number of broadly multidisciplinary design colleges in a major research university, the College of Design also benefits from connections with disciplines that are not traditionally associated with design, such as biology, computer science, sociology, and geography.

At the most basic level, College of Design faculty, staff, and students need the opportunity to learn more about one another's work and develop new connections.

Recently, we asked people to respond to three quick questions so that we could identify academic interests and the ways they might come together in community. The response was wide-ranging. In addition to the areas we already knew were of broad concern, areas of interest people proposed include design education, systems research, post-occupancy evaluation, heritage studies, cultural history and values, product design, human factors and design, drawing, digital technology and design, and the business and consumption of design.

Our goal is to build upon work that is already underway by facilitating new forms of collaboration and exchange within the college and in connection with communities, agencies, and industry-regionally, nationally, and globally. We are forming new degree programs and revising existing ones and developing new ways of connecting research and teaching with the dynamic work of our research and outreach units.

By fostering interdisciplinary inquiry within the college and the University as well as connections with professionals and communities beyond it,

The College of Design is unusually well-positioned to explore innovative approaches to research and design concerning a broad range of artifacts and environments through their full life cycle-from policy, materials sourcing, design process, and manufacturing, to consumer and user experience, reuse, and disposal.

The college will provide a variety of opportunities for faculty, staff, and students to meet in community to exchange ideas and pursue projects in areas of common interest. New initiatives in a number of areas are already bubbling up. We welcome your involvement -- watch for future communications from the college.