All hands on deck

The global scientific community has sent a clear message in response to the coronavirus pandemic: It’s an all-hands-on-deck moment. Researchers across disciplines — from computer science and physics to bioengineering, mathematics, materials science and chemistry — have responded to the call and are working around the clock to support frontline medical personnel and stop the spread of the virus. 

At Harvard, traditional disciplinary lines are being blurred as scientists and engineers work together to solve some of the most pressing challenges caused by the virus. 

We spoke with Frank Doyle, Dean of the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), and Christopher Stubbs, Dean of Science in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, about how their faculty are working together to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. These two Deans have elevated an already effective peer relationship into a seamless partnership to manage the myriad challenges confronting the Science & Engineering communities at Harvard.

First of all, how are you doing?

Doyle: I’m doing well but I am painfully aware that I am in a privileged position, both health-wise and employment-wise, and there are many far less fortunate than me at this time. Our house is quite active with all three of our college and post-college aged kids back home, and let’s just say that we are giving the WiFi router a good workout.

It’s been incredible to see the global scientific community come together to respond to COVID-19 these past months. How are SEAS and Division of Science researchers contributing to that effort?

Stubbs: We’ve seen the same outpouring of response here. It seems like every day, someone has a new idea to solve a problem caused by the pandemic. So far, most of the research at SEAS and the Division of Science has focused on addressing the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) and diagnostic tools. We’ve had researchers develop disposable face shields and diagnostic swabs and evaluate different N95 face mask decontamination methods and help set up COVID-19 testing at Boston-area hospitals.

Doyle: We also have computer scientists collaborating with the T.H. Chan School of Public Health to build models to simulate the effectiveness of physical distancing and shelter-in-place policies. We have environmental scientists and engineers investigating possible meteorological effects on COVID-19 transmission.

It seems like all different disciplines are coming together to solve these problems. How does research like this benefit from these types of cross-disciplinary collaborations?

Stubbs: Very true. The N95 decontamination project, for example, includes microbiologists, quantum physicists, biophysicists, materials scientists, neuroscientists, chemists, engineers, clinicians and more.  It just goes to show that no one can solve these challenges alone in the time we need them solved. They are building on each other’s expertise and creativity.

Doyle: As one researcher told me recently, “if necessity is the mother of invention, collaboration must be its father.” SEAS has always been interdisciplinary in nature, but I’ve never seen this level of interdisciplinary collaboration focused around one problem. These projects have gone from idea to prototype to commercial production in just a few weeks. If that doesn’t demonstrate the power of collaboration, I don’t know what does. 

Besides research, how else is the Harvard scientific community contributing to the response?

Stubbs: Right before we closed down the labs, we sent a message to our community to please, as you shut off the lights and lock the door, put out your supply of PPE. The community response was incredible. We shipped three truckloads of gloves, N95 masks, protective eye guards, surgical and procedure face masks, and disposable lab coats to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency for frontline medical personnel. Harvard faculty have also been engaged in using social media at the national level to redirect PPE to critical care providers. 

What has surprised you in the response from the research community?

Doyle: I was delighted to see both how quickly our faculty accepted the need to hibernate the research enterprise on behalf of the greater community health, and I was also thrilled to see how quickly a number of our faculty tapped their innovative creativity and jumped into action to solve the local PPE and related challenges. One of the first e-mails I received from a faculty member was inspiring in its conviction: “my obligation to society, because of its investment and trust in my training as a scientist, is to use whatever resources I have available to meet its needs with scientific and technical solutions.