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IN THIS ISSUE: $10M for Native American Alliance, CRISPR-charged C19 testing, carbon-negative call, wildfire info-sharing hackathon, AI for safe water for refugees
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$10M NSF grant to Native American alliance to increase Indigenous participation in higher education and FEWS careers
The Blum Center for Developing Economies announced that a wide range of academic programing around food, energy, and water systems (FEWS) designed by and for Native Americans and other underrepresented student groups will expand substantially as a result of a new $10 million National Science Foundation grant to UC Berkeley and the University of Arizona in collaboration with the American Indian Higher Education Consortium and more than 20 additional partners.
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Using two CRISPR enzymes, a COVID diagnostic in only 20 minutes
Berkeley News: The latest study on the rapid C19 testing techniques that could shorten the wait for results from days to minutes using breakthrough CRISPR science from the Innovative Genomics Institute, authored by Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna and Blum Center Research Director Dan Fletcher, among other researchers.
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Carbon neutral isn't enough. California needs to be carbon negative by 2030
San Francisco Chronicle: "Without more aggressive action, the mismatch between California’s needs and failure to act boldly will undo decades of state leadership toward a healthy environment and a more equal society." This key finding of a new report urging California to become net carbon negative by 2030 — 15 years earlier than planned — was co-written by Dan Kammen, Energy and Resources Group professor and Blum faculty member.
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Hackathon to build wildfire info-sharing capacity between National Guard and civilian emergency-response agencies
Over the last few months, four teams of Berkeley students and alums have been developing tools for providing real-time fire perimeters, live on-the-ground conditions, and a way for disparate agencies to submit vital information in one place.
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Using AI to Fight Waterborne Illnesses in Refugee and IDP Settlements
npj Clean Water: In a new paper, Syed Imran Ali and his York University research group used data he collected as a Blum Center post-doctoral fellow to build novel machine learning analytics for ensuring water safety in refugee and internally displaced person (IDP) settlements. The team deployed these analytics in an open-source online tool that aid workers could use to generate water-chlorination targets, protecting household water supplies from pathogenic recontamination in humanitarian field settings. The Safe Water Optimization Tool, Ali says, is “one of the first concrete applications of an AI technology in the emergency water, sanitation, and hygiene space.” (Syed Imran Ali photo)
> Read the paper
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Using science and technology policy to bolster economic security
Issues in Science and Technology: “The rapid growth and integration of global capabilities caught the U.S. off guard,” says Laura D. Tyson, Haas School of Business professor and Blum Center board of trustees chair, in a co-authored essay proposing a six-point plan to use "science and technology policy to pursue economic security, which means reducing geopolitical vulnerability in combination with improving economic growth and stability.”
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CALENDAR
SAVE THE DATE
BIG IDEAS GRAND PRIZE PITCH SESSION
Thursday, September 23, 5 pm PST
The 2021 Big Ideas competition will culminate with the final six student teams pitching their game-changing social innovations and vying for the $10,000 grand prize.
Watch for the livestream link coming soon!
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