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| Provide energy from fusion - - ITER is a joint international research and development project that aims to demonstrate the scientific and technical feasibility of fusion power. The partners in the project - the ITER Parties - are the European Union (represented by EURATOM), Japan, the People´s Republic of China, India, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the USA. ITER will be constructed in Europe, at Cadarache in the South of France. What is fusion? Fusion is the energy source of the sun and the stars. On earth, fusion research is aimed at demonstrating that this energy source can be used to produce electricity in a safe and environmentally benign way, with abundant fuel resources, to meet the needs of a growing world population. |
The US National Academy of Engineering (NAE) on Friday announced the grand challenges for engineering in the 21st century. A diverse committee of experts from around the world, convened at the request of the US National Science Foundation, revealed 14 challenges that, if met, would improve how we live.
"Tremendous advances in quality of life have come from improved technology in areas such as farming and manufacturing," said committee member and Google co-founder Larry Page. "If we focus our effort on the important grand challenges of our age, we can hugely improve the future."
The panel, some of the most accomplished engineers and scientists of their generation, was established in 2006 and met several times to discuss and develop the list of challenges. Through an interactive Web site, the effort received worldwide input from prominent engineers and scientists, as well as from the general public, over a one-year period. The panel's conclusions were reviewed by more than 50 subject-matter experts.
The final choices fall into four themes that are essential for humanity to flourish -- sustainability, health, reducing vulnerability, and joy of living. The committee did not attempt to include every important challenge, nor did it endorse particular approaches to meeting those selected. Rather than focusing on predictions or gee-whiz gadgets, the goal was to identify what needs to be done to help people and the planet thrive.
"We chose engineering challenges that we feel can, through creativity and commitment, be realistically met, most of them early in this century," said committee chair and former US Secretary of Defense William J. Perry. "Some can be, and should be, achieved as soon as possible."
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| Restore and improve urban infrastructure - - Crews work to repair a massive sinkhole Friday morning that closed northbound I-25 north of downtown Denver on Feb 08, 2008 |
Less well known than the carbon crisis is the need to avoid dangerous interference with Earth’s natural nitrogen cycle. “In the process of fertilising the planet we are massively increasing the amount of biologically available nitrogen on the planet,” said Robert Socolow of Princeton University, a panel member . “So we are not just warming the planet, we are fertilising the planet.”
The committee decided not to rank the challenges. NAE is offering the public an opportunity to vote on which one they think is most important and to provide comments at the project Web site -- <www.engineeringchallenges.org>.
The Grand Challenges site features a five-minute video overview of the project along with committee member interview excerpts. A podcast of the news conference announcing the challenges will also be available on the site starting next week.
"Meeting these challenges would be 'game changing,'" said NAE president Charles M. Vest. "Success with any one of them could dramatically improve life for everyone."
The Challenges
¨ Make solar energy affordable
¨ Provide energy from fusion
¨ Develop carbon sequestration methods
¨ Manage the nitrogen cycle
¨ Provide access to clean water
¨ Restore and improve urban infrastructure
¨ Advance health informatics
¨ Engineer better medicines
¨ Reverse-engineer the brain
¨ Prevent nuclear terror
¨ Secure cyberspace
¨ Enhance virtual reality
¨ Advance personalized learning
¨ Engineer the tools for scientific discovery
The Committee
William Perry(committee chair), former secretary of defense, US Department of Defense, and Michael and Barbara Berberian Professor and professor of engineering, Stanford University
Alec Broers, chairman, Science and Technology Select Committee, United Kingdom House of Lords
Farouk El-Baz, research professor and director, Center for Remote Sensing, Boston University
Wesley Harris,department head and Charles Stark Draper Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Bernadine Healy, former director, US National Institutes of Health, and health editor and columnist, US News & World Report
W. Daniel Hillis, chairman and co-founder, Applied Minds Inc.
Calestous Juma, professor of the practice of international development, Harvard University
Dean Kamen, founder and president, DEKA Research and Development Corp.
Raymond Kurzweil, chairman and chief executive officer, Kurzweil Technologies Inc.
Robert Langer, Institute Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Jaime Lerner, architect and urban planner, Instituto Jaime Lerner
Bindu Lohani, director general and chief compliance officer, Asian Development Bank
Jane Lubchenco, Wayne and Gladys Valley Professor of Marine Biology and Distinguished Professor of Zoology, Oregon State University
Mario Molína, Nobel laureate and professor of chemistry and biochemistry, University of California, San Diego
Larry Page, co-founder and president of products, Google Inc.
Robert Socolow, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, Princeton University Environmental Institute
J. Craig Venter, president, The J. Craig Venter Institute
Jackie Ying, executive director, Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
The National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council make up the US National Academies. They are private, nonprofit institutions that provide science, technology, and health policy advice under a congressional charter.
