In an increasingly connected world, Virginia Tech (VT), www.vt.edu, is committed to be a global center for bright minds from across the world to engage in collaborative learning, research, innovation, and cultural exchange. After having identified India as one of the strategic countries for meeting its global vision, Virginia Tech, led by its Office of International Affairs (OIA), has established a not-for-profit entity, Virginia Tech India Research and Education Forum, also known as VT India under Section 8 of the Companies Act of India. Based in Chennai, it has engaged with Virginia Tech’s major interdisciplinary research institute–the Institute of Critical Technology and Applied Science (ICTAS), www.ictas.vt.edu, to lead and promote cutting-edge research for advancing the scholarship and innovation in a few targeted areas, rich in complexity and scholarship for a sustainable future with an emphasis on serving the underserved.
With our firm belief in the incredible transformative power of interdisciplinary research, VT India seeks to bring researchers from different academic disciplines to intersect and lead technology transformation by nurturing a proactive, responsive, and nimble culture. There is a body of research that has shown conclusively a strong positive correlation between innovation and intersections. According to Kafatos and Eisener (Science, 303, February 27, 2004), “…the new frontier is the interface, wherever it remains unexplored…”. I resonate with this and believe that interfaces/intersections provide an effective format for conversations and connections that lead to new knowledge. It is my fervent hope that at VT India, my favorite quote, “Buds of creativity blossom at the intersections” will come to life.