The old organization and old labels of academe are quickly disappearing.

If you told someone a decade ago that you were a physicist, they would have a pretty clear idea of what you did. Today, that statement would only tell someone where your office is located. Tomorrow, the label may mean nothing. A physicist may be working in medicine or on environmental research, because the cutting edge is usually at the boundary between traditional fields.

As an example, one of our Faculty Development Awards, for $87,000, went to UC's Institute for Data Sciences. This new institute was created in part to help researchers understand how to use data collected from other specialties. The institute is staffed by researchers representing psychology, political science, mathematics, business administration, sociology, education, and medicine.

Similarly, the university's Institute for Policy Research, based in the political science program, has joined with researchers at the Medical Center to create a Health Policy and Health Research Institute which brings public opinion techniques into epidemiological research projects to inform changing health care policy.

You are probably aware that the University of Cincinnati earns more than $2 million each year from patents developed on campus. You may not be aware of how collaboration creates these patents. Take Michael Wathen of our College-Conservatory of Music and Richard Harris of the physics department. Wathen and Harris conducted a series of physics experiments involving pianos and developed a new way to attach piano strings. They are now patenting their technology, which has astounded veteran pianists by its ability to improve the sound of the instrument.

The University of Cincinnati will be the first in Ohio to offer a new option for nurses, a Legal Nurse Consultant Certificate Program. The need for legal nurse consultants is diverse, from reviewing workers' compensation claims to evaluating biohazard waste disposal methods. The program is based in UC's College of Evening and Continuing Education.

For the past decade, the university has been involved in drawing together allied health programs that were operating in 10 of our colleges. This effort resulted in the formation of the Center for Health-Related Programs. Well on its way to becoming a full-fledged college, the center has provided opportunities for educators and researchers to share not only information but resources at the university's Medical Center.

With such collaborative efforts yielding results, the university is moving toward new frontiers. One such effort is the Vontz Center for Molecular Studies. This $46 million building, designed by internationally renowned architect Frank Gehry, is rising on the boundary between the university's east and west campuses. When completed, it will house researchers from medicine, biology, chemistry, engineering, physics, and other fields where important questions are studied at the molecular level.

A colleague of mine recently said we should start designing campuses in the round because every field is becoming so interconnected. In this regard, we are building a conference center specifically to encourage interaction among scholars from various disciplines. In fact, we are building a campus to encourage such interaction throughout the university, albeit not round!