I am an undergraduate physics student (2nd semester) stepping into mathematical modeling and interdisciplinary research for a competition. Recently, I participated in a modeling project involving photovoltaic (PV) cells, where I had to utilize specialized engineering textbooks (e.g., Duffie's Solar Engineering of Thermal Processes) and specialized research papers.

Coming from a physics and olympiad background, I have a strong habit of wanting to understand every physical mechanism and foundational concept from first principles before applying them. However, when faced with vast engineering literature full of empirical formulas and complex systems, this "deep-dive" approach overwhelmed me. I found myself slow to extract the necessary equations for the model because I felt I lacked a thorough, surface-to-core understanding of the engineering domain itself.

In contrast, my peers from engineering backgrounds were able to pragmatically "clip" necessary parameters and formulas from references to build working models quickly, without needing to master the entire physical mechanism first. I want to improve my research workflow for future interdisciplinary modeling projects.

• How do researchers efficiently skim and extract relevant mathematical equations from unfamiliar engineering or applied science literature without getting trapped in the details of the domain?

• How do I balance the rigorous physics mindset of wanting to understand why every mechanism works with the pragmatic engineering requirement of mathematical modeling?

• Are there any specific methodologies, literature-reading frameworks, or resources that address this specific struggle of cross-disciplinary collaboration?