NEXUS 3: On Integration and Innovation – How Do New Ideas Come To Be?
How do new ideas emerge, and why do integrated approaches matter?
Innovation rarely appears in isolation; it takes shape through collaboration and at the intersections of disciplines, communities, and forms of knowledge.
These selected articles spotlight true innovation and highlight how integrative knowledge and cross-sector collaboration give birth to new ideas.
Featured Article
From left: Angie Mestas, Patrick O’Neill, Madeline Wilson, and Seth Denizen.
Where Do New Ideas Come From?
Anthony Brandt and David Eagleman
Smithsonian Magazine
In this article, David Eagleman and Anthony Brandt explore how creative breakthroughs evolve from recombination and transformation rather than appearing from nowhere.
Thanks to our appetite for novelty, innovation is requisite. The innovative drive lives in every human brain…
In Practice
The US is bringing back nature’s best firefighters: beavers
BBC
Farmers, tribal leaders, and conservationists are reintroducing beavers as allies in wildfire resilience.
A student’s ‘aha’ moment becomes a nation’s alternative fuel
Christian Science Monitor
A climate-innovation breakthrough sparked a nationwide transition toward biofuel from local seaweed.
Project Spotlight
Wright-Ingraham’s Field Workshop Program
The Field Workshop program fosters integrative synthesis across disciplines and landscapes, often sparking transformative “a-ha” moments.
Dig Deeper
Restoration of the amunas in the Andes
Aquafondo is reviving ancestral water systems combined with modern hydrology to address climate adaptation.
Preventing conflicts between humans and wildlife in Montana
Blackfoot Challenge facilitates collaboration between landowners, conservationists, and researchers.