In 1986, when Lehigh created the ATLSS (Advanced Technology for Large-Structural Systems) Engineering Research Center in partnership with the National Science Foundation, the concept of interdisciplinary team science was far from the norm. Perhaps, even revolutionary.
“Lehigh made an enormous investment of space and financial resources to make the vision of the ATLSS ERC—engineers from different specialties working alongside materials scientists, computer scientists, chemists and economists to address America’s crumbling infrastructure—a reality,” says Director Richard Sause, who initially joined ATLSS as a faculty associate in 1989.
“I suppose it was a calculated risk, but a significant risk nonetheless,” he says, “ ... and the payback has been remarkable.”