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Snapshots From Gross Hall for Interdisciplinary Innovation

In 1968, a new building on Duke’s west campus opened to house the Department of Chemistry. Named for long-time chair Paul Gross, the building was designed to prioritize safety in case of chemical fires, with interior spaces divided into a warren of labs and small units.

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Gross Hall exterior.
Gross Hall for Interdisciplinary Innovation

More than four decades later, the department moved into the French Family Science Center and the building was renovated to serve the growing needs of interdisciplinary research and education. Small spaces were opened up to emphasize collaboration and community, and the new Gross Hall for Interdisciplinary Innovation was dedicated in 2014.

Through interdisciplinary units including the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability, the Social Science Research Institute, the Rhodes Information Initiative and Duke Science & Society, Gross Hall is alive with boundary-crossing scholarship on the most compelling societal challenges. Here are scenes from just a few recent activities.

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Students discuss a poster presentation in the Energy Hub.
Students discuss a poster presentation during a symposium on critical resources, minerals and materials.
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Toddi Steelman holds the mic.
Toddi Steelman, vice president and vice provost for climate and sustainability, participates in a session during the symposium. (Photo: Jeremy Ashton)
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A student wears a shirt with the names of the Duke summer "plus" programs.
Interested students stop by the +Programs Fair to learn about the options for the upcoming summer. Most of Duke’s “plus” programs take place in Gross Hall. Small teams of students work alongside each other in a communal environment as they tackle collaborative research projects. Many teams have community partners. (Photo: Carol Bales)
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Arts+ table at the Plus Programs Fair.
Arts+ is a recent addition to the suite of summer “plus” programs. Other programs include Applied Ethics+, Climate+, Code+, CS+, Data+, Doc+, History+ and Math+. (Photo: Carol Bales)
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Martha Bailey gives a presentation with slides.
Martha Bailey, director of the California Center for Population Research and professor of economics at UCLA, gives a lunchtime talk as part of the Duke University Population Research Institute (DUPRI) seminar series. Students and faculty from sociology, public policy, economics, biology and other disciplines were in attendance.
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Tyler Ratcliffe talks with participants at the Climate and Energy Fair.
Duke student Tyler Ratcliffe, shown here at an energy and climate career fair, got involved with the undergraduate energy club and codeveloped a house course. “My personal goal is to get more students into this space,” he said. “The Nicholas Institute always supports us. Whenever we have an idea, they’re always there to listen.” (Photo: Melissa Fernandez)
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Two students share a laugh.
Two students share a laugh during the career fair. (Photo: Melissa Fernandez)
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Mine Cetinkaya-Rundel speaks to an audience.
Mine Çetinkaya-Rundel, professor of the practice of statistical science, gives a talk called “It All Starts in the Classroom” at the Duke Society for Women in Science Distinguished Lecture and Lunch Series. “Teaching fuels everything else I want to be doing,” she told the audience.

Main image: Participants interact at the +Programs Fair. (Photo: Carol Bales)