Interdisciplinary collaboration is increasingly the engine of impactful legal scholarship.

Today, Penn State Dickinson Law faculty, staff, and alums had the opportunity to hear from Professor Lara Fowler on Interdisciplinary Collaboration and Grant Writing, exploring how Penn State’s research ecosystem supports cross-college partnerships, internal funding, and externally funded initiatives.

Lara’s work exemplifies how law is a bridge. Through collaborations spanning engineering, public policy, sustainability, and social science, she helps shape research on energy transition, climate resilience, agricultural sustainability, and stakeholder engagement.

The most consequential legal questions today, whether involving AI, energy, or environmental governance, do not fit neatly within traditional disciplinary boundaries. They require lawyers who can collaborate, translate across domains, and help design durable institutional solutions.

Talks like Lara’s provide a valuable platform for our alumni community to stay connected with the intellectual life of the law school. They offer a window into the work underway and an invitation to engage with the ideas, partnerships, and research shaping the future of law and policy.

We remain deeply committed to advancing research that is rigorous, interdisciplinary, and consequential.