New Center to Foster Interdisciplinary Collaboration at Wentworth

Interdisciplinary collaboration and public impact are taking center stage as Wentworth Institute of Technology prepares to launch its first-ever research center this March. 

On Wednesday, March 11, at 5:30 p.m. in the CEIS Lobby, the university will officially introduce the Community Design & Research Center (CDRC). The inaugural event will kick off with a hybrid panel discussion bringing together leaders from nationally recognized design and research centers. 

Guest panelists include: 

• Cathi Ho Schar, Associate Professor and Director, University of Hawai‘i Community Design Center
• Ann Yoachim, Professor of Practice in Design and Director, Tulane University Albert and Tina Small Center for Collaborative Design
• Courtney Crosson, Associate Professor and Director, University of Arizona Drachman Institute
• Danyson Tavares, Executive Director, Boston Society for Architecture (BSA/AIA) 

These external experts will be joined by Wentworth Professors Ignacio Cardona, Anne-Catrin Schultz, and Robert Trumbour, who serve as the inaugural co-directors of the CDRC. 

Following the panel, attendees are invited to a reception and faculty research networking session. As research activity continues to expand at Wentworth, this session is designed to intentionally create opportunities for faculty to discover one another’s work, identify potential collaborators, and forge meaningful partnerships across campus. 

To ensure the networking portion of the evening is focused and productive, participating faculty are asked to complete a brief Research Interest Form in advance by Tuesday, March 10. Compiling this information ahead of time will allow attendees to prepare for high-impact conversations, discover new interdisciplinary initiatives, and align with colleagues who share complementary interests. 

Whether faculty are actively pursuing external funding, developing a new research agenda, or simply looking to connect with peers dedicated to advancing the public good through design and research, the CDRC launch promises to be a foundational step in building a more collaborative research culture at the university.