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The complex challenges facing 21st century society will require solutions that transcend disciplinary boundaries (National Academies, 2004). The convergence of informatics, engineering and biotechnology is widely predicted to lie at the heart of the next technological revolution (Carlson, 2008). Interdisciplinary science and technology–of which synthetic biology is just one exemplar-has the potential to fundamentally transform healthcare, agriculture, energy, security, environmental science and many other areas of pressing concern (Endy, 2005; May, 2009).

Many programmes have been established to encourage and nurture such work (Cech and Rubin, 2004; Tadmor and Tidor, 2005), but the complexities of interdisciplinarity are still poorly understood. While interdisciplinary research (IDR) appears to have clear benefits, its implementation can offer a significant challenge (Kafatos, 1998).