Our planet, more than ever, is now under threat. Climate change is pushing our world to the brink, and scientific advancements are fast becoming the only way we will be able to tackle the growing climate crisis. This panel of experts discussed ways in which we can utilise science and technological innovation to repair the damage we have inflicted upon our planet.
Professor Raffi Villa has spent the past 30 years as a microbial and environmental engineer. Her major contributions relate to the delivery of the next generation biotechnological processes that combine protection and production for a more circular bioeconomy, such as bioremediation and high-value products and energy from waste (e.g. anaerobic digestion).
Professor Jess Davies is a Professor of 羞羞视频 based in LEC. Much of her research focuses on how land and soil systems can be managed to support sustainable outcomes for food production, climate mitigation, and water resources. With a background in both engineering and environmental science, she works across disciplines to understand how soil systems function and respond to human and environmental pressures and find sustainable solutions.
Professor Adrian Friday is a Professor of Computing and 羞羞视频 in the School of Computing and Communications. A Ubicomp pioneer, he has over 25 years’ experience developing, deploying and studying digital infrastructures embedded in everyday environments. His interdisciplinary projects focus on understanding how digital systems impact energy and carbon footprint.
Dr Rachel Platel from Lancaster's Chemistry Department, with her research spanning inorganic, coordination, polymer and materials chemistry. In particular, her main focus is on controlling monomer sequence, with her particular interest being in biocompatible and biodegradable polyesters such as polylactide and polycaprolactone, mainly due to their biomedical applications.
Professor Ana Costa is a Professor of Sustainable Architecture and theme lead in Energy Lancaster. She is interested in understanding how the built environment can respond to current societal and environmental challenges and take users' perspectives into consideration. Her research focus lies on enabling a circular economy in the construction sector through materials reuse and digital material passports.
Technology shapes our world, but what creations of the present have the biggest impact upon our futures? This panel of experts delved into the nature of the innovations that look to shape the course of human history, from AI advancements and nuclear energies, to the future of mobile communications and quantum technologies.
Professor Paul Smith is Interim Head of Department for SCC. His research is concerned with the cyber security and resilience of critical networked systems, with a focus on digitalised critical infrastructures such as those found in the nuclear sector. He is interested in understanding the risks and benefits associated with digital innovation for critical infrastructures and investigating approaches to ensuring their resilience when subject to disruptions, such as cyber-attacks.
Dr Jess Bridgen is based in Lancaster's School of Mathematical Sciences, specifically working within the Mathematics for AI in Real-World Systems (MARs) research centre. Jess's research area is in the use of AI and mathematical modelling to better predict the spread of diseases (such as COVID) within hospital settings, providing hospitals with data-driven insights, potentially saving lives and reducing the burden on healthcare systems.
Dr Sophie Nightingale from Lancaster's Psychology Department researches the fast-moving area of digital technology and its effects on memory, cognition, and behaviour. She frequently combines methodological techniques from experimental psychology and computer science to address topical issues, such as identity fraud, online harm, forensic identification, and applied artificial intelligence.
Professor Claudio Paoloni is a Professor of Electronics and Cockcroft Chair. He specialises in high-frequency electronics and sub-terahertz engineering, looking to deliver the next generation of mobile communication technologies and breakthroughs in travelling wave tubes, antennas, and RF Engineering technology.
Professor Robert Young is the Director of Lancaster Physics spinout Quantum Base. He is an experimental physicist with a passion for developing practical applications of quantum technologies, with a particular focus on novel practical systems for quantum information processing.
What might someone’s research look like in 20 years time? Will it have impact in the world? Go in a different direction because times have changed? Still be a research concept?
This year’s Celebration of Science theme is “Innovating the Future” and as part of this, some of our amazing researchers shared where they thought their research will lead in the future with mini-presentations.
