ACIR Interdisciplinary Conference

Theme: Knowledge Without Borders: Bridging Disciplines for the Public Good

Virtual Conference | Nov 12, 2026

Host Venue: University of Indianapolis, USA

Invited Speaker: Alex Gil, PhD - Yale University, USA

About ACIR

The American Center for Interdisciplinary Research (ACIR) is a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing knowledge through interdisciplinary engagement, public dialogue, and collaborative exchange. Through conferences, workshops, seminars, and community-focused programs, ACIR creates accessible platforms where ideas are shared, perspectives are explored, and meaningful connections are built across diverse fields of inquiry.

Conference Overview

ACIR invites scholars, researchers, practitioners, inventors, entrepreneurs, and advanced graduate students to its inaugural interdisciplinary conference, to be held virtually. Under the theme Knowledge Without Borders: Bridging Disciplines for the Public Good, this one-day online event will bring together voices from the humanities, social sciences, STEM fields, entrepreneurship, and professional practice to explore how knowledge, generated, shared, and applied across disciplinary lines, can serve the broader public interest.

A central purpose of this conference is to open up collaboration across fields — to give participants from every discipline a genuine seat at each other's table. Too often, breakthrough work happens in isolation because researchers, inventors, and practitioners simply do not know what others in different fields are doing, discovering, or building. This conference exists to change that. Attendees are invited not only to present their own work but also to listen, engage, and return to their own fields carrying ideas and partnerships they would not have found elsewhere.

The conference operates on the conviction that knowledge does not belong only to the academia. Inventors who have built something new, practitioners who have developed a method through hands-on work, and innovators who have created products or ideas with social consequence have as much to contribute to public dialogue as credentialed researchers. This event is designed to honor that reality.

Presentations will be organized into thematic panels of three presenters each, with a keynote address and a closing roundtable. Each presenter delivers 15 to 20 minutes, followed by facilitated Q&A. Submissions are accepted through two formal tracks, described below.

Submission Tracks

All presenters apply through one of the following two tracks. Both tracks follow the same presentation format and carry equal standing in the conference program.

Track A: Research Paper

For: Scholars, researchers, and graduate students presenting original findings, theoretical arguments, or analytical work.

Your abstract should describe your research question, methodology, key argument, and its significance across disciplines.

• Abstract: 250 to 300 words
• Brief author biography: up to 100 words
• Presenter name, institutional affiliation (if applicable), and email
• Preferred thematic area (from the list below)

Track B: Innovation and Practice

For: Inventors, entrepreneurs, product developers, civic innovators, artists, and practitioners presenting an original product, idea, method, tool, or initiative.

Your abstract should describe what you created or developed, what problem or opportunity it addresses, and what disciplines or communities it speaks to. Academic credentials are not required.

• Abstract: 250 to 300 words
• Brief presenter biography: up to 100 words (include your field, background, and the nature of your innovation)
• Presenter name and email (organizational affiliation optional)
• Preferred thematic area (from the list below)

Conference Themes

Both tracks are open to all thematic areas listed below. Interdisciplinary submissions that bridge more than one area are especially encouraged.

Humanities, Social Sciences, and Public LifeHumanities, Social Sciences, and Public LifeHumanities, Social Sciences, and Public LifeHumanities, Social Sciences, and Public LifeHumanities, Social Sciences, and Public LifeHumanities, Social Sciences, and Public LifeHumanities, Social Sciences, and Public Life

• Knowledge, Power, and Public Life — Rhetoric, sociology, political science, and communication perspectives on how knowledge is constructed, contested, and circulated.
• Language, Discourse, and Social Change — Linguistic and discourse-analytic approaches to understanding social transformation, including pragmatics, critical discourse analysis, and rhetoric.
• Digital Publics and Epistemic Communities — How digital platforms, online discourse, and algorithmic environments shape the construction of shared public realities.
• Research Across Borders: Methods in Dialogue — Metacritical reflections on interdisciplinary methodology — how researchers from different fields approach the same problems differently.

STEM, Society, and the Public Interest

• STEM and Society — How science, technology, engineering, and mathematics intersect with ethics, policy, and public understanding in consequential ways.
• AI, Data, and Human Experience — Machine learning, algorithmic decision-making, and their social, ethical, and communicative consequences for individuals and communities.
• Health, Science, and Communication — Bridging biomedical research, public health, health communication, and medical pragmatics to improve how science reaches the public.
• Engineering the Future: Sustainable Solutions — Climate technology, infrastructure innovation, and environmental science in conversation with social and policy contexts.
• Mathematics as Language — Quantitative reasoning, modeling, and the communicative dimensions of mathematical knowledge across disciplines.

Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Social ImpactInnovation, Entrepreneurship, and Social ImpactInnovation, Entrepreneurship, and Social ImpactInnovation, Entrepreneurship, and Social ImpactInnovation, Entrepreneurship, and Social ImpactInnovation, Entrepreneurship, and Social ImpactInnovation, Entrepreneurship, and Social Impact

• Products and Prototypes for the Public Good — Inventions, technologies, or designed solutions addressing real community needs or social challenges.
• Civic Innovation and Grassroots Models — New approaches to organizing, service delivery, or community building developed outside traditional institutions.
• Creative and Artistic Innovation — Works of art, design, or creative practice that generate new knowledge, open dialogue, or challenge existing frameworks.

Cross-Disciplinary IntersectionsCross-Disciplinary IntersectionsCross-Disciplinary IntersectionsCross-Disciplinary IntersectionsCross-Disciplinary IntersectionsCross-Disciplinary IntersectionsCross-Disciplinary Intersections

• STEM Meets Humanities — Papers or innovations that deliberately pair scientific and humanistic frameworks to illuminate a shared problem or question.
• Emerging Scholars and Innovators in Dialogue — Work by advanced graduate students and early-career researchers or innovators working at disciplinary intersections.

Presentation Format

• Standard presentations: 10 to 15 minutes per presenter
• Q&A: 10 minutes per panel, facilitated by a designated moderator
• Lightning Round: 5-minute presentations available for emerging scholars and first-time innovators
• Keynote and Closing Roundtable: by a distinguished colleague

All sessions will be conducted online. Accepted presenters will receive technical guidance, access credentials, and a conference e-program in advance of the event. Track B presenters may use slides, demonstrations, product walkthroughs, or short video clips as part of their presentation.

Submission

Key Dates

• Abstract submission deadline: September 15, 2026
• Notification of acceptance: October 9, 2026
• Full paper or presentation materials submission (optional, for proceedings): November 2, 2026
• Conference date: November 12, 2026