Crosstalk: Computation as a Language for Research Conversations among Scientists and Engineers

I organized this special theme issue to illustrate ways in which research in the physical and life sciences is stimulated by computational science, and conversely. The t it le—Crosstalk—is meant to epitomize such reciprocal exchanges. This magazine was originally created to facilitate this cross-fert i l izat ion, as was characterized by George Cybenko, CiSE ’s first editor in chief. In his introduction to CiSE ’s inaugural issue,1 Cybenko framed a beautiful metaphor: “CiSE is setting up camp at the confluence of two great intellectual rivers—the physical sciences and the computational sciences. This camp will grow into a town and then a city but only if we learn each other’s languages and trade in good faith.”