Global study finds increased female and youth legislative representation may improve SDG performance

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The study also shows a divide in achieving socio-economic and environmental goals

Peer-Reviewed Publication

OKINAWA INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (OIST) GRADUATE UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: MS. NOBUE AMANUMA AND DR. DEWI LANGLET, COAUTHORS OF A GLOBAL STUDY ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FEMALE AND YOUTH PARLIAMENTARY REPRESENTATION AND SDG PERFORMANCE view more 

CREDIT: OIST

As part of the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology’s (OIST) SDG initiative, researchers from OIST and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) have studied the composition of national legislatures from more than 100 countries and found that those with higher female and youth representation perform better in achieving the 17 SDG goals and 169 targets.  

The study involved cross-disciplinary collaboration between researchers in marine ecology, environmental policy, and political science, and revealed the trade-offs between environmental and socio-economic SDGs in the policy making process, and the choices countries have made on the different paths towards achieving the global goals. 

The article titled “The relationship between female and younger legislative representation and performance on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” was recently published in the journal Environmental Research Letters and coauthored by Dr. Dewi Langlet, a scientist in the Evolution, Cell Biology and Symbiosis Unit at OIST, together with Ms. Nobue Amanuma, Deputy Director, and Dr. Eric Zusman, Research Leader, at the Integrated Sustainability Centre at IGES.  

Females and youth are currently underrepresented in many parliaments, including Japan, which has one of the lowest numbers of female parliamentary members and a high average age of cabinet members. The authors hope that their results can help motivate countries to increase diversity in their legislatures and potentially achieve better SDG performance. 

The researchers also examined the performance of countries on different types of SDGs. “An interesting finding is that when we separate the environmental goals from socio-economic goals, we find that female and young parliamentarians do not have the same effect on achieving these two different types of SDG goals. For example, a greater percentage of female parliamentarians positively affects the performance of socio-economic goals, but doesn’t affect the performance of environmental SDGs,” Dr. Langlet explained.

“This means that there is a divide or trade-off between socio-economic SDGs and environmental SDGs, especially in developed countries that tend to have very high scores on social and economic goals, but lower scores for environmental goals,” Ms. Amanuma said. “It’s a big global challenge and it’s why countries need to turn trade-offs between these two into synergies.”

The researchers point out that if trade-off challenges are not properly resolved, increasing females and youth in parliaments will not necessarily mean that we can achieve the SDGs. Furthermore, as the 2030 deadline for achieving the SDGs approaches, we urgently need a more balanced approach to reach them, or even one in which environmental related SDGs such as those associated with climate change, biodiversity, and sustainable consumption and production, are prioritized. “Our study shows the limit to the current approach to sustainable development, where countries can cherry pick what to work on and what not to work on,” Ms. Amanuma stated. 

Further studies can explain why nations with a higher proportion of young and female legislators are more successful in achieving SDGS and explore how the increased presence of these demographics in local governments can impact sustainable development. Such research could reveal similar trends across different regions and promote stronger links between socio-economic and environmental objectives.

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DOI

10.1088/1748-9326/acca96 

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

The relationship between female and younger legislative representation and performance on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The ground is deforming, and buildings aren’t ready

First study to quantify effects of subsurface climate change on civil infrastructure

Peer-Reviewed Publication

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: GEOLOGICAL LAYERS BENEATH THE CHICAGO LOOP view more 

CREDIT: ALESSANDRO ROTTA LORIA/NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY

There is a “silent hazard” lurking underneath our major global cities, and our buildings were not designed to handle it.

A new Northwestern University study has, for the first time, linked underground climate change to the shifting ground beneath urban areas. As the ground heats up, it also deforms. This phenomenon causes building foundations and the surrounding ground to move excessively (due to expansions and contractions) and even crack, which ultimately affects structures’ long-term operational performance and durability. Researchers also report that past building damage may have been caused by such rising temperatures and expect these issues to continue for years to come.

Although rising temperatures do pose a threat to our infrastructure, the researchers also view it as a potential opportunity. By capturing the waste heat emitted underground from subterranean transportation systems, parking garages and basement facilities, urban planners could mitigate the effects of underground climate change as well as reuse the heat into an untapped thermal energy resource.

The study will be published on July 11, in Communications Engineering, a Nature Portfolio journal. It marks the first study to quantify ground deformations caused by subsurface heat islands and their effect on civil infrastructure.

“Underground climate change is a silent hazard,” said Northwestern’s Alessandro Rotta Loria, who led the study. “The ground is deforming as a result of temperature variations, and no existing civil structure or infrastructure is designed to withstand these variations. Although this phenomenon is not dangerous for people’s safety necessarily, it will affect the normal day-to-day operations of foundation systems and civil infrastructure at large.

“Chicago clay can contract when heated, like many other fine-grained soils. As a result of temperature increases underground, many foundations downtown are undergoing unwanted settlement, slowly but continuously. In other words, you don’t need to live in Venice to live in a city that is sinking — even if the causes for such phenomena are completely different.”

Rotta Loria is an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering.

What is underground climate change?

In many urban areas around the globe, heat continuously diffuses from buildings and underground transportation, causing the ground to warm at an alarming rate. Previous researchers have found that the shallow subsurface beneath cities warms by 0.1 to 2.5 degrees Celsius per decade.

Known as “underground climate change” or “subsurface heat islands,” this phenomenon has been known to cause ecological issues (such as contaminated ground water) and health issues (including asthma and heatstroke). But, until now, the effect of underground climate change on civil infrastructure has remained unstudied and little understood.

“If you think about basements, parking garages, tunnels and trains, all of these facilities continuously emit heat,” Rotta Loria said. “In general, cities are warmer than rural areas because construction materials periodically trap heat derived from human activity and solar radiation and then release it into the atmosphere. That process has been studied for decades. Now, we are looking at its subsurface counterpart, which is mostly driven by anthropogenic activity.”

Northwestern Ph.D. student Anjali Naidu Thota affixes a temperature sensor to a pipe in a basement beneath the Chicago Loop.

A smartphone receives data from the underground temperature sensors.

CREDIT

Northwestern University

Chicago as a living laboratory

In recent years, Rotta Loria and his team installed a wireless network of more than 150 temperature sensors across the Chicago Loop — both above and below ground. This included placing sensors in the basements of buildings, subway tunnels, underground parking garages and subsurface streets like Lower Wacker Drive. For comparison, the team also buried sensors in Grant Park, a greenspace located along Lake Michigan — away from buildings and underground transportation systems.

Data from the wireless sensing network indicated that underground temperatures beneath the Loop are often 10 degrees warmer than temperatures beneath Grant Park. Air temperatures in underground structures can be up to 25 degrees higher compared to the undisturbed ground temperature. When the heat diffuses toward the ground, it puts significant stress on materials that expand and contract with changing temperatures.

“We used Chicago as a living laboratory, but underground climate change is common to nearly all dense urban areas worldwide,” Rotta Loria said. “And all urban areas suffering from underground climate change are prone to have problems with infrastructure.”

A 3D rendering of the Chicago Loop. Colored dots mark the locations of the temperature sensors.

CREDIT

Alessandro Rotta Loria/Northwestern University

Slowly sinking

After collecting temperature data for three years, Rotta Loria built a 3D computer model to simulate how ground temperatures evolved from 1951 (the year Chicago completed its subway tunnels) to today. He found values consistent to those measured in the field and used the simulation to predict how temperatures will evolve until the year 2051.

Rotta Loria also modeled how ground deforms in response to increasing temperatures. Whereas some materials (soft and stiff clay) contract when heated, other materials (hard clay, sand and limestone) expand.

According to the simulations, warmer temperatures can cause the ground to swell and expand upward by as much as 12 millimeters. They also can cause the ground to contract and sink downward — beneath the weight of a building — by as much as 8 millimeters. Although this seems subtle and is imperceptible to humans, the variation is more than many building components and foundation systems can handle without compromising their operational requirements.

“Based on our computer simulations, we have shown that ground deformations can be so severe that they lead to problems for the performance of civil infrastructure,” Rotta Loria said. “It’s not like a building will suddenly collapse. Things are sinking very slowly. The consequences for serviceability of structures and infrastructures can be very bad, but it takes a long time to see them. It’s very likely that underground climate change has already caused cracks and excessive foundation settlements that we didn’t associate with this phenomenon because we weren’t aware of it.”

Ground temperatures measured throughout the Chicago Loop

CREDIT

Alessandro Rotta Loria/Northwestern University

Footage from the field [VIDEO] | 

Harvesting heat

Because urban planners and architects designed most modern buildings before underground climate change emerged, they did not design structures to tolerate the temperature variations we experience today. Still, modern buildings will fare better than structures from earlier time periods, such as the Middle Ages.

“In the United States, the buildings are all relatively new,” Rotta Loria said. “European cities with very old buildings will be more susceptible to subsurface climate change. Buildings made of stone and bricks that resort to past design and construction practices are generally in a very delicate equilibrium with the perturbations associated with the current operations of cities. The thermal perturbations linked to subsurface heat islands can have detrimental impacts for such constructions.”

Going forward, Rotta Loria said future planning strategies should integrate geothermal technologies to harvest waste heat and deliver it to buildings for space heating. Planners also can install thermal insulation on new and existing buildings to minimize the amount of heat that enters the ground.

“The most effective and rational approach is to isolate underground structures in a way that the amount of wasted heat is minimal,” Rotta Loria said. “If this cannot be done, then geothermal technologies offer the opportunity to efficiently absorb and reuse heat in buildings. What we don’t want is to use technologies to actively cool underground structures because that uses energy. Currently, there are a myriad of solutions that can be implemented.”

The study, “The silent impact of underground climate change on civil infrastructure,” was supported by the National Science Foundation (grant number 2046586). The wireless sensing network at the basis of this work, which also serves as a living laboratory for a course taught by Rotta Loria, was partially supported by the Murphy Society and the Alumnae of Northwestern University.

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JOURNAL

Communications Engineering

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Computational simulation/modeling

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

The silent impact of underground climate change on civil infrastructure

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

11-Jul-2023

Amazon in the firetrap: Deforestation and warming lock rainforest in dry and damaged grassland state

Peer-Reviewed Publication

POTSDAM INSTITUTE FOR CLIMATE IMPACT RESEARCH (PIK)

Global warming and drastic deforestation could dry out the Amazon rainforest faster and enforce the risk of keeping it downright fire-trapped. A new study published in Nature Communications Earth and Environment shows: Fire can be a decisive factor for a potential tipping of the Amazon rainforest, as it is capable of locking large parts of the Amazon in a treeless state. While naturally not occurring in rainforests, fire can play an increasing role once the forest is damaged, thinned or completely lost, up to a status where fire is the dominating driver of the ecosystem.

“It turns out, fire is the important factor for locking the Amazon in a grassland state, preventing 56-86% of the Amazon from regrowing, depending on the strength of climate change”, lead author Markus Drüke from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) explains. “We know that reversing the Amazon forest loss becomes increasingly harder the more forest is lost, and our study shows that fire puts another lever onto this coherence."

Usually, the trees of the Amazon transport enormous amounts of water back to the atmosphere, which they originally received as rain. This water can form new rain locally or downwind in a process called moisture recycling basically forming “flying rivers”, not only stabilizing the Amazon as whole but also enabling it to extent into regions which would be too dry without this process. This coherence is the main reason why the Amazon is considered a tipping element of the Earth system. Global warming and deforestation can damage these flying rivers leading to a self-reinforcing feedback of forest loss. The new study now underlines how fire dynamics help to push and lock the Amazon towards and in a savanna-like or treeless state.

Fire plays key role in irreversible transition

In contrast, in simulations without fire, the forest was able to recover over a longer time period of within 250 years, which emphasizes the important role of fire for the irreversibility of tropical deforestation.

“For the first time, it has been possible to calculate the feedbacks between fire, rainforest and climate in a process-based manner using the Earth system model POEM (Potsdam Earth Model)”, adds co-author Kirsten Thonicke, Deputy Head of Research Department on Earth System Analysis and Working Group Leader on Ecosystem in Transitions at PIK. “Our results highlight the need to keep the Earth system within stable boundaries and limit climate change as well as tropical deforestation in order to prevent the tropical forest from crossing an irreversible fire-controlled tipping point”, she concludes.

Article: Markus Drüke, Boris Sakschewski, Werner von Bloh, Maik Billing, Wolfgang Lucht, Kirsten Thonicke (2023): Fire may prevent future Amazon forest recovery after large-scale deforestation. Nature Communications Earth and Environment. [DOI: 10.1038/s43247-023-00911-5]

Weblink to the article: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-023-00911-5

JOURNAL

Nature Communications

DOI

10.1038/s43247-023-00911-5 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Computational simulation/modeling

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Fire may prevent future Amazon forest recovery after large-scale deforestation.

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

11-Jul-2023

Sex lives of orchids reads like science fiction

A global database of pollination data for almost 3000 orchid species

Peer-Reviewed Publication

LA TROBE UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: AS IS THE CASE FOR MANY ORCHIDS, THE DRAGON ORCHID (CALADENIA BARBAROSSA) IS POLLINATED BY JUST A SINGLE SPECIES OF INSECT. HERE, POLLINATION OCCURS VIA A MALE THYNNINE WASP, WHICH IS SEXUALLY ATTRACTED TO THE FLOWER THROUGH MIMICRY OF THE WASP'S SEX PHEROMONES. IN THIS PHOTO THE MALE WASP REMOVES AND DEPOSITS POLLEN IN THE PROCESS OF ATTEMPTING TO COPULATE WITH THE FLOWER view more 

CREDIT: DR RYAN PHILLIPS, LA TROBE UNIVERSITY

Recent research, published in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, used the database to reveal that orchids show remarkable diversity of highly specialised pollination strategies that differ across global regions.

The recently published database contains over 2900 orchid species, detailing information on the identity of their pollinators and how they attract them. Importantly, the database reveals patterns of reproductive biology by habitat, geography and taxonomy.

“From these data, we identify general patterns and knowledge gaps limiting our understanding of orchid biology at the global level,” Dr Phillips said.

Charles Darwin used orchids to study evolution, believing their elaborate flower was an adaptation to enhance the probability of transferring pollen between plants – thereby increasing their offspring’s fitness. 

“Because of the unusual floral traits and often unconventional pollination attraction strategies, orchids have been at the forefront of understanding floral adaptations to pollinators,” Dr Phillips said. 

Indeed, Darwin famously predicted that the Madagascan orchid Angraecum sesquipedale – with its 40 cm long nectar spur - would be pollinated by a moth with an equally long and outlandish proboscis.

Using the new database, the research paper, led by Dr James Ackerman from the University of Puerto Rico, found that over 75% of orchid species are dependent on pollinators for reproduction. Interestingly, almost half of the orchids studied did not provide any kind of reward for visiting animals – instead they used deceit to attract pollinators. 

Orchids tended to be specialised on just one main pollinator species – be they living in the rainforests of Costa Rica or the montane grasslands of South Africa – but this trend was even stronger for those using deception. 

Study co-author, Dr Noushka Reiter, said that “specialising on one pollinator species leaves many orchids particularly vulnerable to anthropogenic threats including climate change. With the loss of pollinators we would also loose these pollinator dependent orchid species.”

The pollination strategies developed by orchids reads like a crime thriller – indeed, Australia is the world epicentre of pollination by sexual mimicry, where a host of different insect groups – from wasps to bees to gnats – are duped by this elaborate rouse. 

In South Africa, orchids mimic carrion, on Reunion Island they mimic rainforest fruits and in Brazil they mimic the smell of aphids – all in the aim of deceiving pollinators. 

More romantically, in the American tropics, 100s of orchid species provide fragrance to certain bees, which collect them and incorporate them into their courtship bouquet. 

Science fiction? 

In Australia, there is even a sexually deceptive orchid known as Caladenia barbarella – which means little beard in Latin (in reference to the flower) but also refers to the comic book character of the same name who was infamous for her sexual exploits.

Dr Phillips said that a surprising finding of the database was that “a hallmark of the orchid family is the high proportion of species that employ deceit to attract pollinators by exploiting the sensory abilities of pollinators via chemical, visual or tactile stimuli, generally in combination,” he said.

Orchids exhibit two major forms of deceit. The first involves food deception, whereby the orchid may look or smell like a type of food to attract a pollinator. The second form of deceitful pollination is sexual deception, where male pollinators are enticed to visit flowers that provide visual, tactile and/or olfactory signals that are indicative of a female insect. 

“The floral signals can be so persuasive that insects attempt copulation and may even ejaculate,” Dr Phillips said. 

“I’ve even had the wasps fly in through the car window at the traffic lights and start making love to the orchids specimens on the front seat”. 

Far from being a freak occurrence, this strategy is now known from 20 genera around the world, including 100s of orchid species.

To date a third means of deception, known as brood-site deception, which typically involves mimicry of larval food such as mushrooms, dung, carrion to attract female flies looking for a food source on which to lay eggs – was considered more common in some other families of flowering plants and rarely seen in orchids. 

According to the database:

* In terms of scientific study, Australasia and Africa have 15 and 20% coverage of their orchid diversity, respectively, whereas orchid floras of Temperate Asia, Tropical Asia and South America are much under-represented 

* Approximately 76% of orchid species are entirely dependent on pollinators for reproduction. 

* Highly specialised pollination systems are frequent, with approximately 55% of orchids studied having just a single known pollinator species.

* 54% of orchid species offer pollinator rewards, and about half of those (51%) produce nectar. Orchids that are pollinated by insect collecting floral fragrances, account for 24% of the rewarding species, whereas those that produce floral oils account for c. 15%. The remaining 10% comprises species that offer trichomes (food hairs, pseudopollen), resins, pollen or sleep sites. 

* Deception, including food, brood-site and sexual deception, was recorded in 46% of the species in the database. Food deception was the most frequently recorded means of deception accounting for 60% of deceptive species. Sexual deception accounted for 38% of the records for pollination by deceit and is present in 20 orchid genera. 

* Wasps and bees are the group that make up the most common type of pollinator with flies and mosquitoes coming in a close second

The authors caution that there is much data collecting yet to be done. 

“Despite containing over 2900 species, our database covers less than 10% of the family. While they are centres of orchid diversity, the tropical regions of Africa, Southern America and Asia, are significantly under-represented in orchid pollination studies, especially among epiphytic orchids,” Dr Phillips said.

“The study of orchid pollination provides tremendous opportunity to discover new and bizarre pollination strategies, and to understand the adaptations that flowering plants to attract pollinators. While the tropics is the big unknown in orchid biology, many of best-known Australian orchids have not been studied in detail.

“Aside from scientific interest, this has important practical implications for conservation, given that many orchid species are reliant on one primary pollinator species for their persistence,” Dr Phillips said.

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JOURNAL

Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society

DOI

10.1093/botlinnean/boac082 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Literature review

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Beyond the various contrivances by which orchids are pollinated: global patterns in orchid pollination biology

Supercomputer used to simulate winds that cause clear air turbulence

Peer-Reviewed Publication

NAGOYA UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: RED AND BLUE AREAS SHOW WIND SPEED DIFFERENCES WITHIN THE TURBULENCE CAUSED BY KELVIN–HELMHOLTZ INSTABILITY view more 

CREDIT: RYOICHI YOSHIMURA

A research group from Nagoya University has accurately simulated air turbulence occurring on clear days around Tokyo using Japan’s fastest supercomputer. They then compared their findings with flight data to create a more accurate predictive model. The research was reported in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

Although air turbulence is usually associated with bad weather, an airplane cabin can shake violently even on a sunny and cloudless day. Known as clear air turbulence (CAT), these turbulent air movements can occur in the absence of any visible clouds or other atmospheric disturbances. Although the exact mechanisms that cause CAT are not fully understood, it is believed to be primarily driven by wind shear and atmospheric instability.

CAT poses a high risk to aviation safety. The sudden turbulence on an otherwise calm day can lead to passenger and crew member injuries, aircraft damage, and disruptions to flight operations. Pilots rely on reports from other aircraft, weather radar, and atmospheric models to anticipate and avoid areas of potential turbulence. However, since CAT shows no visible indicators, such as clouds or storms, it is particularly challenging to detect and forecast.

As winds swirl and circulate creating sudden changes in airflow, eddies are created that can shake an aircraft. Therefore, to better understand CAT, scientists model it using large-eddy simulation (LES), a computational fluid dynamics technique used to simulate these turbulent flows. However, despite its importance to research on air turbulence, one of the greatest challenges of LES is the computational cost. Simulating the complex interactions involved in LES requires high levels of computing power.

To elaborately simulate the process of turbulence generation using high-resolution LES, the research group from Nagoya University turned to an exascale computer called the Fugaku supercomputer. It is a high-performance computing system, currently ranked as the world's second fastest supercomputer.

Using Fugaku’s immense computational power, Dr. Ryoichi Yoshimura of Nagoya University in collaboration with Dr. Junshi Ito and others at Tohoku University, performed an ultra-high-resolution simulation of the CAT above Tokyo’s Haneda airport in winter caused by low pressure and a nearby mountain range.

They found that the wind speed disturbance was caused by the collapse of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability wave, a specific type of instability that occurs the interface between two layers of air with different velocities. As one layer has higher velocity than the other, it creates a wave-like effect as it pulls at the lower velocity layer. As the atmospheric waves grow from the west and collapse in the east, this phenomenon creates several fine vortices, creating turbulence.

After making their computations, the group needed to confirm whether their simulated vortices were consistent with real-world data. “Around Tokyo, there is a lot of observational data available to validate our results,” said Yoshimura. “There are many airplanes flying over the airports, which results in many reports of turbulence and the intensity of shaking. Atmospheric observations by a balloon near Tokyo were also used. The shaking data recorded at that time was used to show that the calculations were valid.”

“The results of this research should lead to a deeper understanding of the principle and mechanism of turbulence generation by high-resolution simulation and allow us to investigate the effects of turbulence on airplanes in more detail,” said Yoshimura. “Since significant turbulence has been shown to occur in the limited 3D region, routing without flying in the region is possible by adjusting flight levels if the presence of active turbulence is known in advance. LES would provide a smart way of flying by providing more accurate turbulence forecasts and real-time prediction.”

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JOURNAL

Geophysical Research Letters

DOI

10.1029/2022GL101286 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Computational simulation/modeling

ARTICLE TITLE

Clear Air Turbulence Resolved by Numerical Weather Prediction Model Validated by Onboard and Virtual Flight Data

SMART launches new research group M3S to advance AI, automation and the future of work

SMART launches a new research group, Mens, Manus and Machina (M3S) aimed at tackling key social and institutional challenges around the rise of AI and new technologies, advancing these fields to create impactful value for Singapore and the world

Business Announcement

SINGAPORE-MIT ALLIANCE FOR RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY (SMART)

 

IMAGE: SMART M3S LEAD PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR AND MIT PROFESSOR, PROFESSOR JINHUA ZHAO view more 

CREDIT: SMART M3S

• Five-year multi-million-dollar programme supported by NRF under its CREATE programme

• New interdisciplinary research group (IRG), SMART M3S, will bring together 17 MIT and Singapore professors to further Singapore’s Smart Nation initiative over five years

• The focus of the SMART M3S research will be to design the technology, training programmes and institutions for successful human-machine collaboration in the workplace and beyond

• The first of its kind, SMART M3S will integrate robotics and AI with human capital development, economic growth, and public acceptability

Singapore, 12 July 2023 - Singapore MIT-Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), MIT’s research enterprise in Singapore, has launched a new interdisciplinary research group (IRG) aimed at tackling key social and institutional challenges around the rise of AI and new technologies, furthering advances in these fields to create impactful value for Singapore and the world beyond. In line with Singapore’s Smart Nation initiative and the National AI Strategy, and as part of SMART's commitment to foster collaborative research in Singapore that generates positive impact for society, Mens, Manus and Machina - How AI Empowers People, Institutions and the City in Singapore (M3S) will embark on an ambitious five year endeavour supported by a multi-million-dollar grant from the National Research Foundation (NRF) under its Campus for Research Excellence And Technological Enterprise (CREATE) programme. 

Bringing together a diverse team of 17 professors from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Singapore, SMART M3S will also draw expertise from local researchers from Singapore Management University (SMU), Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), the National University of Singapore (NUS), and the National Robotics Programme (NRP).

As Asia’s smartest city, Singapore’s integration of AI, automation, and robotics has been facilitated by strategic use of data analytics, IoT technologies, and smart infrastructure. Amid the rise of AI and machine learning, SMART M3S will contribute to Singapore's AI ecosystem by focusing on the human-machine relationship, enhancing existing AI initiatives in the city-state.

Mens, Manus and Machina (M3S) - inspired by MIT’s motto of mens et manus (mind and hand) - reflects the research group’s ideals to promote AI and machine use for practical application; technologies that are extensions of humans and augment their lives. SMART M3S, in a world first, integrates research into robotics and A.I. with human capital development, economic growth, and public acceptability - an intersectional approach to the ongoing transformation of how we work and live.

This interdisciplinary approach encompasses tackling key issues such as physical and digital interfaces between humans and machines, machine learning fundamentals, and understanding the implications of AI for human and social capital development. Other issues of focus include work on structuring human-machine teams within organisations and the developing dynamics between humans and machines in resource allocation and manpower (as well as machine-power) management.

The research conducted will significantly advance the fields of soft robotics, brain interfaces, learning algorithms, task allocation, team formation, model compression, sustainable technology, technology acceptability in the workplace, social acceptability of robotics and AI, and more. The impact of AI on human welfare and productivity and how AI technology can advance both areas will be central considerations for the work at SMART M3S, as society navigates the transition towards an AI- and machine-enhanced future.

Through interdisciplinary research, knowledge sharing, and impactful collaborations, SMART M3S aims to redefine the boundaries of AI, automation, and robotics to scientific, societal and commercial impact. The work at M3S will explore the intricate interplay between human capabilities, emerging technologies, and societal structures, paving the way for designing inclusive, resilient, and innovative solutions that empower individuals, institutions, and cities in Singapore. SMART M3S, by collaborating with Singaporean partners, will enhance Singapore’s ability to create forward-looking AI policies, invigorate Singapore’s economic standing within AI, and support local workforce training and mentorship on AI topics. 

Since its inception in Singapore in 2007, SMART has pioneered innovations that have transformed and are transforming a multitude of fields such as autonomous driving, agriculture, microelectronics, cell therapy, mechanics and microfluidics platforms for biology and medical diagnostics, and antimicrobial resistance.

“As a species, humans have spent eons learning how to work effectively with each other but, at the scale of human history, we are still neophytes to computation and automation,” said Professor Jinhua Zhao, Professor at MIT and Lead Principal Investigator at SMART M3S. “We focus on two questions at M3S: How will we design AI and Robotics technologies and train humans to build the skills and habits necessary for success in a robotics-heavy work environment? How will we adapt our social and business institutions to create the incentives and protections necessary to drive innovation and social welfare?”

SMART M3S is helmed by Lead Principal Investigator (PI) Professor Zhao and Co-lead PIs MIT Professor Daniela Rus and SMU Professor Archan Misra. 

Professor Rus shared, “The M3S collaboration between MIT and Singapore, through SMART, will break new ground in our understanding of AI's impact on the future of work. By harnessing our collective expertise and innovative spirit, we aim to advance the state of the art in AI and turn this technological advancement into an engine for human potential and societal progress.”

Professor Misra noted, “M3S is distinguished by its ambition to address the key challenges of human-AI synergy holistically, from both a scientific and societal perspective. It will focus not just on the technical breakthroughs that will allow human workers and AI-enabled machines and software to work interactively, but also on the training and governance mechanisms that ensure that individuals and organisations adapt to and thrive in this new future of work. I’m especially excited to partner MIT on this important national priority, which aligns perfectly with SMU’s strategic multi-disciplinary research priority area of Digital Transformation”.

Eugene A. Fitzgerald, CEO and Director of SMART, added, “Since 2007, SMART has pioneered impactful innovations across various fields, transforming industries such as autonomous driving, agriculture, cell therapy, microelectronics, and medical diagnostics by bringing together some of the finest from MIT and Singapore. With our latest interdisciplinary research group SMART M3S, we further our commitment to bringing scientific, social, and commercial impact to Singapore and beyond. The focus on a human-centric approach to AI advancement will contribute towards Singapore being at the forefront of the future of work.”

Seeking to redefine the boundaries of AI, automation, and robotics through interdisciplinary research, knowledge sharing, and impactful collaborations, SMART M3S aims to design inclusive, resilient, and innovative solutions that empower individuals, institutions, and cities. By exploring the intricate relationship between human capabilities, emerging technologies, and societal structures, it is envisioned that SMART M3S will drive scientific, societal, and commercial impact in Singapore and beyond.

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Aston University-based Supergen Bioenergy Hub to receive £5m to continue renewable energy research

Grant and Award Announcement

ASTON UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: PROFESSOR PATRICIA THORNLEY. view more 

CREDIT: ASTON UNIVERSITY

• 
  
• 
  
• Aston University-based Supergen Bioenergy Hub is to receive £5 million
• The hub contributes to the government’s engineering net zero priority
• The UK could have enough biomass and waste to supply over 40% of its primary energy demand.

Aston University-based Supergen Bioenergy Hub is to receive £5 million to continue its exploration of the use of renewable energy.

The hub is one of three across the UK which contribute to the government’s engineering net zero priority to ensure the country benefits from clean energy research and innovation.

The successful bid was led by director of the hub and of Aston University’s Energy and Bioproducts Research Institute (EBRI), Professor Patricia Thornley.

The new UK Research and Innovation funding builds on the hub’s bioenergy research which focused on accelerating current generation technologies.

Bioenergy is a significant and increasing UK renewable energy. The UK could have sufficient indigenous biomass and waste to supply over 40% of the UK's primary energy demand.

The vision of the new impact Supergen Bioenergy Hub is to increase sustainable biomass production in the UK to minimise greenhouse gas emissions.

Established in 2018 Supergen Bioenergy Hub works with academia, industry, government and other groups to develop sustainable bioenergy systems that support the UK’s transition to an affordable, resilient, low-carbon energy future.

The hub is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation.

Professor Thornley said: "Getting the right enabling environment is absolute key to unleashing the massive potential of bioenergy in the UK

“We are delighted that UKRI - UK Research and Innovation - have recognised the ability of the world class team of investigators in this proposal to deliver a step change in the bioenergy sector.

“We look forward to working with colleagues in industry, policy and academia to incorporate new ideas and information into this exciting new programme of work.”

The grant is part of an overall investment of £55 million in six national research centres to drive forward change in the energy system and help to meet the UK’s net zero target by 2050.  

The centres will boost knowledge, create innovative green technologies and reduce demand for energy to achieve greener, cleaner domestic, industrial and transport energy systems.

Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser, chief executive of UK Research and Innovation, said:

“The government has set a target of reaching net zero emissions by 2050, requiring rapid decarbonisation of our energy systems. UKRI is leveraging its ability to work across disciplines to support this ambition through a major portfolio of investments that will catalyse innovation and new green energy systems. 

“The funding announced today will support researchers and innovators to develop game changing ideas to improve domestic, industrial and transport energy systems.”

Over the next four years Professor Thornley and her colleagues will be working with key industrial partners. These include Advisian, Alps Ecoscience, Compact Syngas Solutions, Croda, DAABON, Energy Systems Catapult, Engas UK, Future Biogas, Glass Futures, Kew Technology, Progressive Energy, Reheat, Renewable Energy Association, Rolls Royce, Straw Innovations, Wales & West Utilities, Straw Innovations, Terravesta, Uniper.

Academic partners Imperial College, London and the University of York will work with Aston University to support the growth and dissemination of the hub’s work. They will help to prove how sustainable bioenergy technology solutions developed in the UK can work.

The Universities of Surrey, Glasgow, Sheffield and Strathclyde will play key roles in developing innovative and disruptive bioenergy technologies.

Meanwhile Aston University, the University of York, University of Glasgow, Imperial College and the University of Southampton will focus on supplying independent academic perspectives to support development of the sector.