Chile
Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María
Computer Science
In my work, it is difficult to access certain essential data. We need something like the ISR to help us with that, and for scientists to better learn from reach other regardless of their geographic location.
Brazil
Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
Mathematics
The ISR offers a way for scientists to come together and brainstorm on a model and the tools you will need. Like in our regular research, this is an opportunity for us to use our research tools and our knowledge — but to directly help society.
Turkey
Hydropolitics Association (HPA)
Ankara & Akdeniz University
Climate Science
We are scientists. We have no nations. It is crucial for us to collaborate across international borders, through organizations like the International Science Reserve. My hope is that the global scientific community will be able to solve some issues that cannot be solved on a national level.
Trinidad and Tobago
Department of Geography
The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine
Behavioral Science
I observed how the 2007 earthquake off the coast of Martinique changed people’s perceptions in Barbados towards earthquakes. Then, I thought about natural disasters like hurricanes and wildfires that people know are coming and wanted to find out more about why populations act or do not act. By participating in the first ISR readiness exercise, I could see the usability of my work and its impact on a real-life situation — a phenomenal feeling.
Philippines
Independent Researcher
Environmental Engineer
I was impressed by the inclusive way that the ISR opened its first readiness exercise. The issue of air quality in public health, as part of crisis preparation, is very important and yet understudied in my country. I couldn’t pass up submitting a proposal.
Australia
The Australian National University
Paleoecology
I want my research to also help people, to contribute to humanity, because directly or indirectly ecological crises affect people’s lives. The ISR’s first readiness exercise gave me a way to think about my research interests and areas of expertise from another perspective that explores multidisciplinary approaches.
Brazil
Scientific Director of Microbiote
Fundação Arthur Bernardes/Petrobras, Universidade Federal de Viçosa
Microbiology
As scientists, we can prevent real crises. The ISR allows us to think in advance, think about the future. When a crisis arrives, we can have strong projects or concepts that are ready to help mitigate disasters.
In any major climate-related crisis, access to geo-spatial-temporal datasets, mapping, modeling, and analytical tools are critical to aid recovery efforts and protect communities. Many expert researchers, especially scientists and institutions in low-to-middle income countries, lack the tools to access and analyze relevant data, to inform local decision makers on how to act rapidly and effectively.
During a recent panel with the Predictive Analytics World (PAW) climate conference, we spoke with ISR community member Daniel San Martin of Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María in Chile. Daniel specializes in scientific computing with a current research focus on computational fluid dynamics, numerical methods, and high-performance computing applied to forest fire modeling.
Our work is not only based on data, but we also use physical models and simulations to get or evaluate dangerous zones and vulnerable locations. Our approach is to use these simulations to make informed decisions for experts in disaster management, like government institutions. We can also use the models to create new data for AI-based models in order to complement the analysis. The main contribution of our work with wildfires is trying to best inform the people who make the decisions and try to minimize the damage of wildfires.
I think collaboration with a global network is crucial for developing countries, like Chile. We do this to tap into diverse expertise and to gain a global perspective, specifically on disasters. Also, to share resources and build capacity for rapid response. I think different experts in disaster management approach this work in order to help shape policies. I strongly believe that global collaboration is mandatory nowadays to face any kind of disaster, even more so now that we are suffering the effects of climate change.
In terms of data, it is really tricky in my region because of the availability of the technology or the funding to get intelligent data, like they have in the United States. We have a lot of resource constraints, such as spatiotemporal resolution issues, data integration complexities, sharing restrictions, data quality concerns, resource constraints, and remote sensing limitations, among others. We usually try to use the data provided by US or European institutions. We use that data to create models, but it cannot always be applied because we have geographical or meteorological differences. We need data and tech development by other countries, to create or adjust the tools to our own context.
To better support researchers in disasters, enhanced data accessibility through open initiatives and real-time streams is crucial. This includes advocating for standardized formats and integrating advanced remote sensing technologies. To communicate findings effectively to decision makers, user-friendly visualization tools and comprehensive scenario analysis reports are essential. Collaborative engagement with stakeholders, including regular workshops and educational initiatives, can bridge the gap between researchers and decision-makers, fostering understanding and trust.
Additionally, advocating for policy integration and offering training sessions to decision makers can ensure that scientific research is considered in disaster management strategies, ultimately enhancing the impact of simulation models on informed decision-making.
The International Science Reserve is pleased to announce that Chike Aguh, former Chief Innovation Officer at the U.S. Department of Labor, has joined ISR’s Advisory Council.
Under the Biden administration, he led efforts to use data, emerging technologies such as AI and quantum computing, and innovative practice to advance and protect American workers. We sat down with him to talk about what he learned from previous crisis response experiences and why it’s not a time for business as usual.
Data and innovative technology or practice are critical to crisis responses, respectively. During the fast-moving times of a crisis, data that can tell us what is happening and what has happened previously can be scarce. Who has access to data can be a life-or-death situation: people or governments who have it will weather the storm and those who don’t will be swept away by it. Whether it is mapping what symptoms people are searching on Google to determine what type and where pandemics may spring up, to analysis of large research data sets to mitigate these crises, data helps increase the confidence interval of the interventions that leaders must take to keep us all safe.
Whether practice or technology, innovations are also indispensable during a crisis because the general operating procedures generally do not have the scale or speed required to stay ahead of the crisis. Innovations allow us to operate at “the speed of the fight” as my old boss, US Army General Stan McChrystal used to say.
The lessons I learned were elegant and devastating in their simplicity. One, even the most cutting-edge technologies are not a replacement for strategy. Leaders must do the hard intellectual work of identifying the key problems and questions to be solved in a crisis. Only then can these technologies be applied intelligently and effectively.
Two, sociology will overwhelm technology every time. In the space of collaborative research, we can only achieve the collective brilliance of all involved if we have the goodwill and effective means of working together.
And three, the most important power of these technologies is to help us think outside the parameters of normal practice and try things we would never attempt in normal times. We should not simply use these technologies to do the same old things with incrementally better speed or effectiveness, but rather use them to take quantum leaps in impact.
I do. Some of the greatest successes of the COVID-19 response, from vaccine development, testing innovation, treatment deployment, to the High-Performance Computing Consortium (HPCC) show what is possible when traditional siloes are sublimated for the sake of helping everyone.
The key question is: how do we make this new collaborative lens not simply a feature of crisis response, but a key part of operating procedure for all of us? My biggest recommendation is to keep the institutions that we have created like the HPCC running. Then, they can be applied not simply when responding to crises but can help prevent crises before they ever start.
When crisis events like COVID-19 occur, we have seen the impact on the economy and how it hits the bottom line of businesses. It is in a company’s best interest to do anything it can to fight and end these crises as quickly as possible, and that means making data and cutting-edge technology available to the scientists who are working on just that.
Secondly, I also believe that business and business leaders feel a sense of duty to their communities and their countries. This is a tradition that we have forgotten but one can go back to businesses like Bell Labs, who helped develop critical technologies like radars that helped during WWII. We need to remember and keep this tradition alive now. Business and the world will benefit as a result.