Lumen Autumn 2024 - Flipbook - Page 30
Celebrating 150 years
University-wide research
“Having our University contribute authentically to the United
Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals is important to many
students,” she tells Lumen.
That “big picture” view of the work needed is being actively
pursued University-wide by the Institute for Sustainablity,
Energy and Resources (ISER).
“We are continually looking to improve all aspects of the
student journey. How we manage generative artificial intelligence
(AI) will be part of that future journey, and the skills of our best
researchers and teachers are keeping us at the top of that
growing wave.”
“These issues include the transition to a modern and
sustainable energy system, circular economy, green resources
and materials, and climate change,” ISER Director, and University
Pro Vice-Chancellor (Energy Futures), Professor Mike
Goodsite says.
Artificial Intelligence
“We are delivering high-impact research to help industry,
policymakers and communities cope
with, and manage, global issues at the
local level.”
The impact of AI is not limited to students
– Professor Simon Lucey, Director of the
Australian Institute for Machine Learning
(AIML) tells Lumen: “AI is integral to our
daily lives.”
The beginning and, hopefully,
not the end
“There is immense public interest in
software to improve our productivity,
enhance our creativity and help us explore
new ways of interacting with technology.
Our members work across the full
spectrum of machine learning, but the
Institute is internationally known for its
research in computer vision – AI software
that can interpret visual data, and not only
identify objects but also give meaningful
insights about real-world environments.”
The final two of the eight Institutes Lumen
spoke to are both devoted to the future
of human life – its creation, and its
preservation.
The Robinson Research Institute is
“aspiring to solve the puzzle of healthy
human reproduction and development”,
Deputy Director, Clinical Research,
Associate Professor Michael Stark says.
“We are focused on identifying what
programs human health long before life is
created, and striving to find new ways of
preventing, treating and curing childhood
disease. We are pushing the boundaries
to better understand fertility, conception,
embryo development and birth to improve
people’s lives today, while paving the way
for future breakthroughs in reproduction
and development.”
Staying safe
The ever-evolving safety needs of our nation
are core to the work of our Defence and
Security Institute (DSI).
Executive Director, Professor Michael
Webb, tells Lumen: “We are developing
research, systems and technologies essential
to the future safety of our nation and
its people.”
Critical health research breakthroughs
are also the driving purpose of Professor
Christopher Sweeney, Director of the South
Australian immunoGENomics Cancer Institute (SAiGENCI).
Cyber-attacks are an area of particular
concern. “Advances in the sophistication and
prevalence of cyber-attack from malicious
actors and nations are a prime example of
growing future risk. We have a globally
significant team of cyber, psychology, legal, social and data
science academics working on this and other future needs
such as world-leading over-the-horizon radar technology.”
“SAiGENCI aspires to create a future where cancer is not
feared as a death sentence, but is a preventable and manageable
condition,” he says.
His final statement about the aim of their research and the future
is perhaps true for all of our institutes: “Our research is seeking
better outcomes and improved quality of life, not only in Australia
but around the world.”
Our environment
A clearly recognised risk facing us all is the fact we are “living
beyond the Earth’s planetary boundaries, driving climate change,
habitat clearance, species extinction, waterway eutrophication, and
chemical and plastic pollution,” Professor Andy Lowe, the Director
of the Environment Institute says.
At the University of Adelaide, we believe that while our history
is our foundation, the future is being created now in the work of
our people.
“Perhaps the biggest challenge we face is environmental
sustainability. At the Environment Institute we are working to
understand these problems, develop implementable solutions
with partners, and communicate them more broadly.
- Mark Douglas, Editor, Lumen
Illustration: These cartoons, predicting the possible future iterations of
students in our rapidly changing world, are reprinted from a Lumen
magazine from the 1980s.
“Our work is restoring terrestrial and marine ecosystems;
improving ecosystem resilience; developing efficient water use
praxis and policy; protecting biodiversity from deforestation
and illegal trade; developing improved conservation plans and
designing landscapes that bring nature back to people.”
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