Interdisciplinarity
The interdisciplinary experience that I am have completed is minoring in computer science. The minor in computer science is 23 credit hours, making this a gold experience. I started the minor in Spring 2018 and finished it in Spring 2020.
The relation between my minor in computer science in junction with my biochemistry major to my chosen grand challenge, engineer better medicines is that I am learning skills in programming in order to apply to my biochemistry background in order to create new medical technology. In recent years, the push to integrate computer science into life science fields is on the rise. This is important because by combining the two, you can give power to a life scientist to do more than just wet lab research. In order to engineer better medicines, it is imperative that I am learning skills that will help me to create new technology and have the knowledge needed to better the healthcare system. There are a variety of benefits from learning how to program. A few in relation to engineer better medicines is that I am able to program technology that will help with healthcare, I am able to work with computer scientists to collaborate on medical devices that need improvement, and for research, it is imperative that there is analysis of the work that is being done.
My experience is strongly tied to my chosen grand challenge, engineer better medicines, because in order to create better medicines, I need to have the skills in order to work with other computer scientists and engineers to create medical technology. In addition, this experience allows me to gain a better understanding of research being done in the biomedical engineering field already so that I can have a good foundation on current medicines and where we could be.
​
Reflection:
Throughout this experience I have learned not only more about computer science, but I was able to learn more about the connection between healthcare and technology. Throughout this experience, I had become more passionate about combating the healthcare issues in our country. In doing so, I quickly realized the use of having a different background, even within the STEM field, than just biochemistry. With my newfound skill of coding, I plan on using that knowledge to do research where I can bridge the gap between our current healthcare system and the advancement of technology. Coding has taught me to think outside the box because there is no one way to code, just like there is no one way to solve a problem.
Program-Wide Objective(s):
My experience contributes to the learning objective on persistence and realistic vision. Originally, I was a double computer science and biochemistry major, however I realized that what I needed for not only my own research interests, but also the grand challenge, is a minor. However, as I navigated both biochemistry and computer science courses, I would need to keep my motivation up when code would not work or when I felt overwhelmed. In addition, learning about technology and where it was just twenty years ago to where it is now, has made me appreciate that while we may think we are moving slowly in terms of advancement, we are actually moving along faster than I thought. On the flip side, it has also made me understand what limitations there are in terms of computers and technology and what can be realistically applied to research now.
Interdisciplinarity Objectives:
In order to identify the different disciplines that contribute to the solution of a complex problem, I learned that you cannot just have one discipline combating an issue. You need different skillsets and different people coming together in order to find solutions. The different mindsets are what make us unique and come up with even more unique solutions. In particular, computer science relies on other disciplines heavily so that it can be applied to their subject areas. Biochemistry needs computer science to represent what our data really means. In addition, while it may be difficult to find similarities between different disciplines and their perspectives, it is important to understand that everyone wants a solution to the problem and just because it is not how you think of an issue, it is still a valid option to bring to the table. Overall, it is just important to listen to everyone and be respectful. Lastly, strategies that help to integrate the different disciplines are finding the commonalities and having each discipline work on the other’s issues. It helps to give perspective and it facilitates conversation.