Why was there little interaction between engineers and life scientists before World War II?

Before World War II, the field of bioengineering was essentially unknown, and there was little interaction between engineers and life scientists. This lack of communication was primarily due to a significant barrier in understanding the methods, techniques, and terminology used by counterparts in fields such as medicine, physiology, and psychology.

Most engineers at the time had only minimal exposure to biology—often limited to a single high-school course—and lacked the specialized training necessary to collaborate effectively with life scientists. While some exceptions existed, such as agricultural engineers working on fermentation or mechanical engineers developing artificial limbs, these interactions were largely isolated and often relied on informal personal contacts rather than structured professional collaboration. It was only after the war that the necessity of bridging this communication gap led to the development of formal academic curricula and a greater recognition of the mutual contributions that engineering and the life sciences could offer one another.1