Convinced that the next generation of research breakthroughs will be the byproduct of collaborations between researchers from different fields, Brandeis professor Jacques Cohen and his wife, Diana, have created a fund to support undergraduates pursuing interdisciplinary work.
The Dr. Jacques and Diana Cohen Award Endowment in Interdisciplinary Studies will provide funding for students working on their senior theses with faculty from different Brandeis academic departments.
“I’m a believer in interdisciplinary work,” said Cohen, the TJX/ Feldberg Professor of Computer Science at Brandeis. “In the future, there will be more and more interaction among departments to solve very interesting problems. I have been doing it, and I believe it’s the right direction to go.”
In recent years, Cohen’s research and teaching have focused on computational biology, including using computer technology to more closely study genes, proteins, and cells. Cohen has taught courses with Dagmar Ringe, the Harold and Bernice Davis Professor of Aging and Neurodegenerative Disease, and has partnered with students on interdisciplinary work that combines computer studies with everything from the classics to economics.
Cohen, who plans to retire following the 2008-09 academic year, joined the Brandeis faculty in 1968. He first worked in the Physics Department, then moved into computer science and served as chair of the Computer Science Department for 13 years.
Through his four decades at Brandeis, Cohen has worked closely with Brandeis undergraduates, and estimates that half of his published articles have been the result of collaborations with undergrads. Two of his former students – Tim Hickey ’77 (computer science) and Ruth Charney ’72, MA ’72 (math) – now chair academic departments at Brandeis.
“The students at Brandeis are very brilliant minds,” Cohen said. “I hope I’ve taught them something – I know I’ve learned from them.”
Cohen and his wife met at Brandeis while she was an assistant to then-president Evelyn Handler. Diana is currently the vice president of academic affairs at Wheelock College.