Field-defining research at the frontiers of knowledge requires specific and interconnected contributions from wide ranges of disciplines. At the University of Chicago, we embrace the view that grand challenges of the world must be addressed through rigorous inquiry at the scale that brings the best resources to bear for a given goal. We are driven by curiosity to explore the unknown, and are not limited by traditional disciplinary or departmental boundaries. The use of genomic data to improve healthcare, the data-science revolution, the origins of life, the complex connections of the human brain, the cancer-fighting power of the immune system, the transformative potential of quantum science, the development of materials and energy sources for a sustainable world, and the essence of universe are examples of deep scientific questions that cannot be solved in isolation.

Humanity is facing climate change, water scarcity, pandemics, and global challenges at a magnitude impossible for any nation, or any individual scientist, to tackle alone. More than ever, we need to harness the power of science and other disciplines to foster innovative ideas and transform them into breakthrough solutions and policies that impact the world. What’s needed, in other words, is a transformative approach to solve big problems that we call “Science at Scale”, bringing ideas to life, from basic discoveries to theoretical underpinnings and advanced technologies that can be translated and deployed at a scale necessary to create real impact.

The Office of Science, Innovation, National Laboratories, and Global Initiatives brings together under one umbrella the unique resources required to achieve science at scale.