An invited talk at the Student Research Day, University of Vermont, September 7, 2018, Burlington, VT.

1. Hiroki Sayama
Binghamton University, State University of New York
sayama@binghamton.edu

2. https://xkcd.com/1827/
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3. ▪ “… is a mode of research by
teams or individuals that
integrates information, data,
techniques, tools, perspectives,
concepts, and/or theories from
two or more disciplines or
bodies of specialized knowledge
to advance fundamental
understanding or to solve
problems whose solutions are
beyond the scope of a single
discipline or area of research
practice.”
-- National Academies Report
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4. “Una chimera” by Jacopo Ligozzi (1547–1627)
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5. ▪ “Interdisciplinary” sounds cool!
▪ (At least to students,
university admins and
funding agencies)
▪ There is a societal demand for
them (?)
▪ New academic programs are
often produced by mixing
faculty from multiple disciplines
▪ You simply can’t find a classic
disciplinary job
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Image:https://bit.ly/2Ch0ez9

6. ▪ B.Sc., M.Sc. & D.Sc., all in Information Science (= Computer
Science) at the University of Tokyo
▪ Doctoral dissertation on constructing evolutionary systems in
deterministic cellular automata
▪ Postdoc at NECSI, working with physicists, ecologists,
biologists, engineers, mathematicians, chemists, etc.
▪ First position: Dept. of Human Communication at UEC
▪ Second position: Dept. of Bioengineering, Binghamton
▪ Third position: Dept. of Systems Science and Industrial
Engineering, Binghamton
▪ Additional position: School of Commerce,Waseda University
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7. Artificial Life (10)
Complexity (5)
Physical Review E (5)
Physical Review Letters (3)
Scientific Reports (2)
PLOS ONE (2)
Journal of Complex Networks (2)
Leadership Quarterly (2)
Complicity: An International of
Complexity and Education (2)
New Journal of Physics
Brazilian Journal of Physics
Communications in Nonlinear
Science and Numerical Simulation
Applied Network Science
Computers and Mathematics with
Applications
Natural Computing
BioSystems
Journal of Theoretical Biology
Expert Systems with Applications
IEEE Intelligent Systems
IEEE Computational Intelligence
Magazine
IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary
Computation
IEEE Transactions on Cognitive and
Developmental Systems
Communications of the ACM
IPSJ Transactions
IPSJ Transactions SIG-TOM
Transactions of the JSAI
Organizational Research Methods
Computational and Mathematical
Organization Theory
Organizational Psychology Review
Current Research in Social
Psychology
Journal of Mathematical Psychology
Group Decision and Negotiation
Journal of Artificial Societies and
Social Simulation
Discrete Applied Mathematics
Conservation Biology
NeuroImage
Brain Informatics
Innovations in Clinical
Neuroscience
Psychological Medicine
Clinical Psychological Science
Schizophrenia Bulletin
Complex Adaptive Systems
Modeling
Complex & Intelligent Systems
International Journal of Parallel,
Emergent and Distributed Systems
Concurrent Engineering
Journal of the Society for Art and
Science
PLOS Currents: Outbreaks
PeerJ
FORMA
Journal of Three Dimensional
Images
http://bingweb.binghamton.edu/~sayama/pub.html?Type 7

8. 8
http://phdcomics.com/comics.php?n=1295

10. ▪ Who you are
▪ What you do
▪ Why it is important (to them)
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11. A QUESTION I RECEIVED AT ALIFE 2018
“I obtained my PhD in Interdisciplinary
Studies.When I applied to a faculty position
at XXX University,they asked me at the
interview,‘Can you teach Operating
Systems?’
Although I am good at computers and
computer programming,I am not a
computer scientist.How should I have
answered that question?”
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12. ▪ Reaching the right venue/audience is extremely difficult
▪ Cultural/methodological differences
▪ Jargon
▪ Never-ending literature review
▪ Rejection, rejection, rejection
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13. EXAMPLE
▪ A paper first written and submitted to a journal in 2009;
rejected (2010)
▪ Resubmit & reject (2012)
▪ Resubmit (2012) -> Revise & Resubmit (2013) -> sucked into
an editorial black hole for 12 months -> eventually withdrawn
(2014)
▪ Resubmits & Rejects (2015, 2016, 2018, 2018)
▪ We snapped and fought back to the editor/reviewer
▪ Currently under review
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14. ▪ Reaching the right funding program
is (again) extremely difficult
▪ Proposals may be reviewed by panels
who know NOTHING about what you do
▪ E.g.“Bioengineering” in my case
▪ Need to satisfy ALL of those “domain
experts”
▪ Need to give reasons for funding to ALL
divisions involved
▪ All $$$s have strings attached
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16. EXAMPLE
▪ ONR MURI 2007 rejected
▪ ONR MURI 2008 rejected
▪ LM 2008 rejected
▪ ONR MURI 2009 rejected
▪ NSF RI 2009 rejected
▪ ONR 2009 rejected
▪ NSF RI 2010 rejected
▪ NSF BECS 2010 rejected
▪ NSF CAREER 2010 rejected
▪ NSF CAREER 2011 rejected
▪ JSMF 2012 rejected
▪ (and perhaps more…)
▪ NSF RI 2013 accepted
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17. PEOPLE WON’T
UNDERSTAND YOU

19. ▪ People just want simple labeling
▪ “I am a computer scientist (by training).”
▪ “Department of Bioengineering”
-> “Collective Dynamics of Complex
Systems Research Group”
▪ People don’t give a f--- who you are or what
you do
▪ It is your job to make them pay attention
and support you; practice it!
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20. ▪ Being different gives you values
▪ Focus on and highlight your
uniqueness
▪ Don’t try to hide or blend in
▪ Develop good narratives of how
you are unique, how it can be
useful, and for what/whom
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21. ▪ Stuff you learned at
college (even for
PhD) will be useless
in no time
▪ Changing your
identity and brand
is perfectly fine
▪ “Continuous change
and adaptation” can
also be part of your
identity
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22. ▪ Find the right people
▪ Take time to learn
▪ Respect each other
▪ Give (and take will come
later -- be patient)
▪ (But collaboration shouldn’t
take up 100% of your time)
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▪ Satisfy people who have power to
influence your life/career
▪ Dissertation committee
▪ Editors, reviewers
▪ Program officers, grant panels
▪ Tenure committee, Department Chairs,
Dean, University admins
▪ Satisfy your own desire and curiosity
▪ This is why you are who you are
▪ Evenings and weekends are for this!

24. ▪ For the academic homeless,
the whole world is their
home
▪ “Yes, I can do that”
▪ Do new stuff and you will
always gain something
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25. ▪ Your family and
friends
▪ Your collaborators
▪ Your students & staff
▪ Your audience
▪ (Even your reviewers,
maybe)
▪ They will be of your
help when needed
▪ Cherish your “home”
– even if you think
you are academically
homeless
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26. 8. ENJOY INTERDISCIPLINARY LIFE
▪ Freedom!
▪ Fun to learn you things and gain a “big picture”
▪ Benefit from cross-fertilization of ideas
▪ Can have access to low-hanging fruits
▪ Can lead to more diverse career directions
▪It is a natural way of being, after all
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27. By Graham Moore https://youtu.be/xbNJq90t0Wk 27

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@hirokisayama