
#56: Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration: Workshop helps researchers
From Power of ERDC by U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC)
April 28, 2026 · 22 min · Episode 56
About this episode
The episode discusses ERDC's efforts to foster cross-disciplinary collaboration through its Research and Development workshop series.
ERDC has a long legacy of bringing together researchers from various disciplines to make new discoveries that no one could have found alone. That cross-laboratory, cross-disciplinary collaboration is one of ERDC’s greatest strengths, enabling engineers and scientists to tackle problems in innovative ways. However, with seven laboratories spread across four states, it requires intentional effort to build these collaborative teams. That’s why ERDC launched the Research and Development – or RD as they’re known – workshop series in 2018 as a biennial event to enable researchers to learn from and interact with those in different laboratories – forming new teams and sowing the seeds for future innovations. RD26, the fifth installment in the series, was held in April and drew a record number of participants and presentations. Joining us to discuss ERDC’s efforts to foster cross-disciplinary collaboration are RD26 leads Carra Carrillo and Lauren May. Carrillo is the chief of the River and Estuarine Engineering Branch at ERDC’s Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory. May is the acting chief of the Environmental Processes Branch at ERDC’s Environmental Laboratory. Topics discussed include the…
People in this episode
Guests: Carra Carrillo, Lauren May
Topics covered
- cross-disciplinary collaboration
- research
- innovation
- team building
- workshop series
Keywords
- collaboration
- research
- innovation
- workshop
- engineering
- science
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC)
Books & works: Research and Development workshop series
Places: four states
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