Team Science Series

Team Science is a collaborative approach that connects experts from different disciplines, backgrounds and perspectives to address research problems with a more comprehensive understanding of complex issues. The goal is more innovative, impactful and sustainable outcomes.

Events

AI@AU/Team Science Series: Building Research Communities in AI Showcase and Workshop

This event featured a Showcase of current applications and investigations of AI in research and a Workshop that provided valuable information on practices and tools.  The event aims to:

• Increase awareness of how AU researchers are applying and investigating AI
• Provide opportunities for learning and connection
• Offer information on resources helpful for research teams
• Engage discussions among participants on timely topics

Information and Resources: 

Event Program  |  Keynote   |  Lightning Talks  |  Workshop Talks  | Faculty Slides |  Student Slides  | Visit AI@AU

Team Science Series: Leadership Workshops

A series of six workshops were held between September 2025 and April 2026 that were designed to cultivate a culture of collaboration that inspires exceptional team science leadership and transforms interdisciplinary teams into engines of innovation and discovery.

Spring 2026 Workshops

Leadership Workshop 6 - April 9, 2026 | Workshop Slides | Workshop Preparatory Materials

Teams shared their work with the Collaboration Agreement template peer-to-peer in this final installment of the 2025-2026 Leadership Workshops.

Leadership Workshop 5 - February 20, 2026 | Workshop Slides | Reading Materials

This session focused on understanding team management, dynamics and communication. Participants worked on elements from the Collaboration Agreement template.

Leadership Workshop 4 - February 13, 2026 | Workshop Slides

This session focused on understanding behavioral styles in team dynamics.

Fall 2025 Workshops

Leadership Workshop 3 - November 14, 2025 | Workshop Slides

Leadership Workshop 3 addressed the challenges that teams encounter as they evolve. By anticipating challenges and learning how to navigate group dynamics, leaders can help their teams benefit from disagreements, question assumptions, and develop new approaches to effective collaboration.  

Leadership Workshop 2 - October 17, 2025 | Workshop Slides

Leadership Workshop 2 blended discussion and activities that build team cohesion and a shared vision, strategies for effective communication and conflict resolution and determining how a team will make decisions about opportunities to pursue and assigning roles for different projects. 

Leadership Workshop 1 - September 12, 2025 | Workshop Slides

Leadership Workshop 1 explored how collaborative experiences build the foundation for effective team science leadership. Participants reflected on their strengths and areas for growth, shared what drew them to team science, and learned key strategies for forming successful interdisciplinary teams, including identifying necessary expertise, seeking compatible team members, and assessing team readiness.  

Past Events

Spring 2025 Event on Stress Science 
Auburn Alumni Center

Auburn researchers study environmental, biological, psychological and social stress from the molecular level to the community level in plants, animals, and humans. Across disciplines, we apply complementary approaches to conceptualize and measure stress and stress responses, and to understand the effects and mechanisms of stress and stress responses. The stress science team science event was a forum for developing interdisciplinary collaborations that advance stress research, enhance stress education, and strengthen stress management efforts on campus and in the community.

Spring 2025 Creative Collisions Lunch Workshop
Auburn Alumni Center

This was a collaborative initiative between the Creative Showcase and the Team Science series, sponsored by the Office of the Senior Vice President for Research and Economic Development. This interactive lunch event was designed to spark unexpected research collaborations by connecting faculty across disciplines. This was an exciting opportunity for faculty interested in exploring innovative, cross-disciplinary research partnerships. 

The Inaugural Fall 2024 Event 
Brown-Kopel Engineering Student Achievement Center

A keynote presentation was given by Dr. Joel Dobbs (Center for Clinical and Translational Science, UAB) and the event included a moderated panel of experienced Auburn University research team leaders and informal discussion.

Jennifer Kerpelman
Associate Vice President, Research
kerpejl@auburn.edu

Research and Innovation Center
540 Devall Drive, Suite 200
Auburn, AL 36832