The Institute for Environmental Science and Policy (IESP) at the University of Illinois at Chicago was created in 1999 as a response to the perceived need to catalyze interdisciplinary research that addresses the increasingly complex nature of environmental problems in the 21st century. IESP envisions an Academy in which, to the maximum extent possible, the constraints and limitations imposed by disciplinary perspectives are eased, their strengths enriched, and an environment is created in which interdisciplinary communities of scholars can form and grow. This vision is based on the belief that exciting thinking often lies at the borders of academic disciplines, and that neither research nor pedagogy should be constrained by these boundaries.

In this presentation we will briefly review the structure and basis of the institute, and illustrate its function through two large ongoing research initiatives: Sustainability and Nano-enabled Products in Society, and ULTRA-Ex: Connecting the Social and Ecological Sciences with Planners, Managers, and the Public:  Building a Broad Foundation for the Chicago Region.
 
Interested staff are invited to stay afterwards to meet with Dr. Theis and Dr. Wise.