On May 21, 2025 the Office of University Interdisciplinary Programs and NC State LIVE collaborated on an event blending music, impromptu dance and conversation about the insights that the tradition of bluegrass can offer to scientists and other scholars. 

Esteemed bluegrass musicians and educators Hank Smith and Pattie Hopkins Kinlaw (who perform as “Hank & Pattie”) discussed the history of bluegrass and how improvisation is a core principle the genre, and explored ways in which bluegrass performances, and bluegrass jams in particular, offer a metaphor for how interdisciplinary teams work together to solve problems. 

The evening culminated in the 150+ participants enjoying – and in many instances participating in – improvisational bluegrass jams.