Introduction to Multidisciplinary Science in an Artificial-Intelligence Age

The challenges of our time such as improving the length and quality of lives on Earth, improving short- and long- distance communication and transportation, predicting, adapting to, and mitigating natural hazards, and exploring space to improve our lives on Earth and for the survival of our civilization, transcend the current college curriculums or programs. The breadth of these challenges suggests that instead of splintering science education into endless disciplines, we should expose young minds to multidisciplinary science. Modern technology developments and scientific advances have already adopted cross-fertilization of science disciplines. In this book, we aim to provide young minds with the multidisciplinary education necessary to meet the scientific and technological challenges of our time. This book introduces, with significant details, some of the core fundamental notions that underpin modern science and engineering education and scientific training. These notions are (1) elasticity, (2) viscosity, (3) permeability, (4) porosity, (5) wettability, (6) immersibility, (7) acoustic wave propagation, (8) elastic wave propagation, (9) Navier-Stokes equations, and (10) capillary pressure. We then illustrate, with applications across disciplines, the importance of these notions in our lives and in understanding the world around us. These applications include the development of self-cleaning surfaces such as buildings, cloths, and oil spills, predicting induced earthquakes during shale gas production, understanding the inside of the moons, the origin of large accumulations of hydrocarbons on Earth, the potential occurrence of simultaneous earthquakes, the explanation of the Great Red Spot of Jupiter, the description and analysis of limnic eruptions, and the description and analysis of skyquakes. No chapter is divided into biology, chemistry, and physics. We define and motivate the importance of a topic or problem. Then we address it, both qualitatively and quantitatively, starting with basic principles followed by a series of applications. The book contains analytical problems, as well as computational problems, that include MATLAB software developed especially for the classes associated with this book. In Chapter 3, an essay on a topic of considerable broad interest and debate is discussed at the end of this chapter. This essay is based on the background developed in this book. It may help students and readers see how the background that they have acquired plays a central role in understanding and addressing the major scientific and technological questions of our times.