Interdisciplinary links: the art of science and the science of art

In 2003 the University of Newcastle introduced the Bachelor of Illustration (Natural History) reestablishing a successful collaboration between art and science. This program is unique to higher education in Australia and seeks to blend the life sciences, art and design. Formerly known as Wildlife Illustration this study strand was aligned to Fine Arts and after various university restructures to Design. Despite many upheavals and a new focus it is currently situated in the Faculty of Science and Information Technology where new interdisciplinary challenges are bringing forth a wider range of creative research opportunities. Collaboration between researchers and students in art, design, science and I.T. has resulted in a number of non-traditional projects. These collaborative ventures include biodiversity and installation, biophysics and botanical illustration, palaeontology and 3D modelling. Examination of these projects also requires diversity of expertise across the broad range of disciplines, resulting in the potential for new interdisciplinary and cross-institutional research collaborations, in particular the ‘creative’ (arts) and the ‘credible’ (sciences). This paper seeks to explore such collaborations and outcomes.