Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
Dr Yan M Yufik – From Machine Learning to Machine Understanding
Despite dramatic advances in neuroscience and biology in the 20th and 21st centuries, our understanding of the brain remains very limited. Dr Yan M Yufik, Head at Virtual Structures Research Inc, USA, is a physicist and cognitive scientist who has spent over 20 years combining experimental findings and theoretical concepts in domains as diverse as neuroscience and thermodynamics to form a theory of the brain. His focus has been on elucidating the mechanisms underlying human understanding and applying the results to the design of machines that can not only learn but understand what they are learning.
Dr Melinda Frye | Dr Noa Roman-Muniz – A Holistic Approach to Advancing the Rural Veterinary Population
Within the agricultural community, there is a great shortage of veterinary professionals. This lack of ‘Food Supply Veterinarians’ (FSVs) creates risk for economic loss, public health concerns, and a decline in animal welfare. Dr Melinda Frye, Dr Noa Roman-Muniz and their colleagues at Colorado State University have developed a program that aims to increase the number of practising FSVs. As part of the program, these highly-trained professionals can more easily integrate into the agricultural community, ultimately enhancing animal welfare, food safety and farm profits.
Dr Michelle Schelske Santos – Nutri-Vías: Creating Pathways for Diversified Nutrition Education
Worldwide obesity has almost tripled over the past 50 years. This alarming statistic calls for new initiatives aimed at promoting better weight management, in order to prevent and treat obesity and associated diseases. Dr Michelle Schelske Santos, professor and former director of the Nutrition and Dietetics Program at the University of Puerto Rico, has been working on an academic initiative designed to enhance nutrition and dietetics education in Puerto Rico, forming professionals who are better equipped to deal with the obesity epidemic.
Dr Korbinian Moeller – The Brain, the Body and Mathematics
Dr Korbinian Moeller and a team of researchers at the Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien are endeavouring to identify the cognitive and neuronal processes underpinning an individual’s mathematical ability, by exploring the concept of embodied numerical training.
Dr Jean-Luc Patry | Dr Angela Gastager | Barbara Fageth – Improving Education Through Cultivating Pedagogical Tact
Pedagogical tact is broadly defined as a concept that addresses how teachers transfer educational theories to their teaching practice, in order to achieve their educational goals (which include students’ learning) most successfully. Although this concept has been widely referred to in past research, it remains very complex and difficult to define. To better delineate this concept, researchers at the University of Salzburg and the University College of Teacher Education Styria have developed a new theory of pedagogical tact and explored its validity in school and university settings. By better conceiving this concept, the researchers hope to help educators to cultivate pedagogical tact, enhancing the academic development of their students.
Dr Kai Sebastian Gehring – Politics at the Intersection of Identity and Economics
The UK’s recent decision to exit the European Union has shone a spotlight on the role of identities in shaping people’s economic and political decisions. Dr Kai Sebastian Gehring is a senior researcher in Economics at the University of Zurich, who investigates group identities and the distribution of resources, and how they affect political stability and conflict.
Dr Daniel Gallardo Albarrán | Professor Herman de Jong – Health and Wealth in the 20th Century: Implications for Today
The 20th century brought significant improvements in income and health of citizens across many countries worldwide. Dr Daniel Gallardo Albarrán (University of Wageningen) and Professor Herman de Jong (University of Groningen) have used a comprehensive framework addressing many dimensions of human development, to take a new and closer look at changes in economy and health during the first half of the 20th century.
The SETI Institute’s Earthling Project
An exciting new endeavour at the SETI Institute, the Earthling project, aims to connect humans around the world through the universal language of music. Charged with the task of creating music that represents us as humans, composer Felipe Pérez Santiago aims to foster...
Dr Jerrod Henderson | Ricky Greer – It’s Full STEM Ahead in After-School Programs
Underrepresented is not often the thought that comes to mind when describing males in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). However, there are striking gender and ethnic disparities across STEM fields as white males disproportionately occupy the...
Cancer Care Ontario – Addressing Disparities in Access to Cancer Screening Experienced by Indigenous Peoples in Ontario
Persistent health inequities, rooted in colonialism, continue to impact Indigenous1 peoples in Canada. The trend is no different for cancer, which has emerged as a leading cause of death among Indigenous peoples. Although cancer screening is widely recognised as an...
Professor Christiane Solte-Gresser – Using Dreams to Depict the Nightmare of the Holocaust
It began with a boycott of Jewish shops and it ended in the gas chambers, as Adolf Hitler attempted to exterminate the Jewish population in Europe. Six million victims were annihilated and their voices and stories lost forever. Professor Christiane Solte-Gresser from...
Professor Akemi Kanazawa – The Language of Koizumi Yakumo – From the Standpoint of Japanese Language Education
Koizumi Yakumo, formerly known as Lafcadio Hearn, spent his final decades in Japan, a country that fascinated and inspired him. As he was unable to fully acquire Japanese language, he coined an interlanguage referred to as ‘Hearn-san Kotoba’. Professor Akemi Kanazawa,...
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation promotes academic cooperation between excellent scientists and scholars from abroad and from Germany. To this end, it grants more than 700 research fellowships and research awards annually. These allow researchers from all over...
The American Historical Association
As the largest organisation of professional historians in the world, the American Historical Association (AHA) represents more than 12,000 members and serves historians representing every period in global history. The AHA promotes the study of history in myriad ways,...
Professor Francesco Audrino – Using Big Data to Improve Financial Forecasting
Hookah smoking is the least regulated tobacco form. It is rapidly gaining in popularity to the extent that we are now facing a contemporary epidemic of tobacco abuse. Of particular concern is the level of usage among youth and young adults. Professor Mary Rezk-Hanna from the University of California, Los Angeles works with a group of scientists who aim to drive policy regulation of tobacco and alternative tobacco products, including hookah smoking, by investigating their health effects on the cardiovascular system.
Professor Ingrid Miethe – The Workers’ Faculty: The Globalisation of Soviet Education
The borrowing and lending of educational models between nations has a long and interesting history. However, much of modern literature focuses on transfers between capitalist societies. Professor Ingrid Miethe of the University of Gießen studies the global transfer of...
Dr Henning Kroll – Sustainable Innovation for an Equitable World
Frugal innovation is the art of using limited resources and ingenuity to sell products that are affordable for more people. Alongside his collaborators, Dr Henning Kroll of the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research explores the many benefits of this...
Project VALOR – Exploring PTSD Risk Factors and Outcomes in Combat-exposed Veterans
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a prevalent and often debilitating condition that follows exposure to a traumatic experience and can result in depression and increased suicide risk in vulnerable individuals. Researchers at the National Center for PTSD at the...
Dr Cynthia Pearson – rETHICS: Research Ethics Training for Health in Indigenous Communities
American Indian and Alaska Natives (AIAN) face substantial health inequalities, yet ethical research addressing their health concerns is still extremely limited. Dr Cynthia Pearson, Associate Professor at the University of Washington and Director of Research at the...
Dr Natascha Müller – Multilingualism – A Barrier or a Blessing?
Many children grow up in a multilingual environment, and they need to learn and use these languages in different settings. In some cases, they even need to learn and use a new language to confidently engage with their community and to grow within it. Dr...
The Linguistic Society of America
Almost a century ago, the Linguistic Society of America (LSA) was founded with the aim of advancing the field of linguistics – the scientific study of language. Since then, LSA has played a critical role in supporting linguistics research and highlighting its...
Dr Byron D’Andra Orey – Race & Wellbeing in the US: The Psychological Toll of a Broken System
The United States government and law enforcement branches have a long history of abuse and violence towards African American people that continues into present day. Beyond the impacts to those directly affected, these traumatic events may have psychological and...
Professor Heidi Zeeman – Neurophilic Design: Who We Are and Where We Are
Professor Heidi Zeeman of Griffith University and her collaborators are exploring the innovative research field of neurotrauma and the built environment. They endeavour to understand the experiences of individuals with different brain sensitivities and neurological...
Professor Raphael DiLuzio – Infusing Creative Thinking into STEM Education
Creative thinking is the source of most great human inventions, works of art, and discoveries made throughout history. Professor Raphael DiLuzio, working at the University of Southern Maine (USM), is an artist who bridges traditional painting and drawing praxis with...
Professor Katja Langenbucher – Making the Law Measurable: ‘Economic Transplants’ in the Legal World
How can jurists hold people legally accountable for their actions if there is no one, certain and ‘objective’ way of reading the law’s rules? How can we award monetary damages or send people to prison if legal rules have multiple meanings and numerous ways of...
ReACH – Finding a Silent Killer: Universal Screening for Hepatitis C Saves Lives
Hepatitis C is the most common blood borne infection in the United States and a serious public health threat. It is a leading cause of liver failure and liver cancer, yet most people do not know they have it until serious liver damage has occurred. Currently,...
Dr Klaus Schulz | Dr Florian Fink – Novel Software for Cleansing Digitised Historical Texts
A fortune in historical information lies in archives and library basements around the world. Now, research by Dr Klaus Schulz, Dr Florian Fink and their colleagues at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich is helping to bring this important information to light....
Dr Andrew Scheld | Dr William Goldsmith – Angler Attitudes: Understanding Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Harvests
Scientists from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at the College of William & Mary are working to understand what motivates fishermen to target Atlantic bluefin tuna. Collaborating with the fishing community, the team surveyed over 5,000 bluefin tuna...
Outcomes of Gender Summit 11, Co-hosted by NSERC
From November 6 to 8, 2017, more than 675 advocates of gender equity from across many different fields in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) took part in Gender Summit 11, in Montreal, Quebec. Co-hosted by the Natural Sciences and Engineering...
Dr Jill Slinger – Promoting Inclusion in Environmental Policy Development
Responding to global environmental change requires ongoing effort, and long-term success depends heavily upon the input of local communities. Moreover, if diverse viewpoints are included in policy development, then shared solutions and common goals are achieved. Dr...
Dr Benjamin Jantzen – Dynamical Symmetries: Drawing New Connections Between Natural Processes
Scientists throughout history have constructed rules that help them to understand how natural systems work, but their insights are often far from perfect. Dr Benjamin Jantzen at Virginia Tech has developed computer algorithms to help. By making connections...
Professor John F. Padgett – The Social Context of Innovation
The Florence Renaissance was a time of unprecedented innovation across multiple domains of culture, science and politics. The causes of such widespread advances are often debated, and difficult to pin down. Professor John F. Padgett uses social network analysis to...