Cross-disciplinary and Multidisciplinary While terms such as cross-disciplinary and multidisciplinary have been endemic to the academic lexicon for at least the last three decades, more often than not they have been used to describe a desired attribute, rather than an actual characteristic, of education and research. All that is changing, as increasingly, the boundaries between traditional disciplines are blurring with concurrent integration of subject matter across disciplines. As academics who have worked hard to acquire our specialized knowledge and who take pride in accomplishments based on that knowledge, we may be reluctant to undertake challenges (and opportunities) that transcend our expertise. Yet, it is evident that the solution to important problems will increasingly lie at the intersection of existing disciplines, and successful programs will be those that retain core competencies while melding other expertise central to addressing critical needs and technologies. A case in point is information technology (IT). No longer the exclusive purview of electrical engineers and computer scientists, IT is ubiquitous to education and research in all engineering disciplines. And biotechnologies are not far behind. In this issue of SIGNATURES, we have highlighted some of the multidisciplinary educational and research activities in Notre Dame’s College of Engineering. The article entitled, “Passing The Torch,” describes existing activities in the college’s prototype Learning Center, as well as activities planned for a significant expansion of the Learning Center in a new building to be constructed for the college. The major role of the prototype facility is to provide first-year students with multidisciplinary, interactive, and team-based learning experiences. But the facility also provides faculty with an excellent environment for developing and testing novel teaching and learning techniques. Through support provided by the GE Foundation, several projects relate to the development of multidisciplinary learning modules by teams of faculty from two or more of the college’s five departments. Other multidisciplinary activities are described in the articles entitled, “Quality of Life: The Next Frontier for Engineers” and “Circle of Life,” which deal with biomedical and environmental issues, respectively. As with much that we do, these activities involve teams of faculty and students integrating engineering education and research with human needs. As always, we welcome your interest in our programs and any input you wish to provide. Frank P. Incropera Matthew H. McCloskey Dean of Engineering H.C. and E.A. Brosey Professor of Mechanical Engineering