# Dismantling Knowledge Boundaries at NASA: The Critical Role of Professional Identity in Open Innovation

1 Research Highlights July 3, 2018In “[Dismantling Knowledge Boundaries at NASA: The Critical Role of Professional Identity in Open Innovation](http://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/faculty-research/open-innovation-model-furthers-innovation-at-nasa),” an in-depth, three-year study at the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), NYU Stern Professor [Hila Lifshitz-Assaf](http://www.stern.nyu.edu/faculty/bio/hila-lifshitzassaf) evaluated a number of experiments for which open-innovation methods produced groundbreaking discoveries, finding that their success simultaneously required a shift in thinking about the role of R&D professionals.

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