2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Interdisciplinary (ID) STEM research enables scholars to cross disciplinary boundaries and generate new knowledge (Mansilla, 2017; Frodeman et al., 2017). For STEM graduate students, participation in such research can shape both disciplinary and ID researcher identities, influencing professional trajectories, belonging, and ability to navigate complex scientific landscapes (Leshner & Scherer, 2018; Simpson & Bouhafa, 2020; Singer et al., 2020). However, developing an ID identity presents challenges as students balance conflicting expectations across sociocultural contexts. For example, training in graduate programs and research labs may conflict with perceived outcomes in interdisciplinary centers.
Biology Integration Institutes (BIIs) provide innovative spaces for graduate students to engage in ID training and collaboration, serving as incubators for scientific breakthroughs (NSF, 2022) and shaping identity development. Grounded in Figured Worlds theory (Holland et al., 1998), Science Identity theory (Carlone & Johnson, 2007), and Identity-Trajectory theory (McAlpine, 2012), this study examines how engineering graduate students position themselves as ID researchers in a BII. Using a multiple case study approach (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015), we conducted semi-structured interviews with seven students from different institutions, labs, and personal backgrounds. This paper focuses on engineering students affiliated with the same BII. Data were analyzed through thematic coding and constructivist grounded theory (Charmaz, 2006).

Through our analyses, we explored how students define and contrast Figured Worlds—universities, labs, the BII, and relationships with peers and faculty—and how engineering backgrounds shape ID identity development. Further, we revealed how students reconcile or resist tensions between disciplinary, institutional, and interdisciplinary contexts. Findings suggest engineering training primes students for interdisciplinary thinking, and BIIs provide the infrastructure to apply these skills, produce tangible outcomes, and develop as ID researchers. Labs and BIIs emerged as the most influential spaces for identity formation, with their proximity and alignment in skills, relationships, and opportunities easing transitions across contexts. Simultaneously, personal and academic Figured Worlds sometimes conflicted, complicating integration of ID researcher identity with other aspects of self. Variation in how students defined and valued ID work further shaped whether they recognized themselves as interdisciplinary scholars.

This research illustrates the potential of BIIs as innovative graduate training models that foster diverse, inclusive, and supportive communities. By surfacing both drivers and barriers to ID identity formation, findings inform assessment, evaluation, and continuous improvement of graduate programs. In order to prepare the next generation of interdisciplinary scientists, it is essential to understand how students navigate disciplinary and contextual boundaries as well as the longevity of the effects of ID research participation.