With amassive,nationwide effort the United States could reach net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050 using existing technology and at costs aligned with historical spending on energy,according to astudy led by Princeton University researchers.The new“Net-Zero America”research outlines five distinct technological pathways for the United States to decarbonize its entire economy.The research is the first study to quantify and map with this degree of specificity,the infrastructure that needs to be built and the investment required to run the country without emitting more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than are removed from it each year.It’s also the first to pinpoint how jobs and health will be affected in each state at ahighly granular level,sometimes down to the county.The study’s five scenarios describe at ahighly detailed,state-by-state level the scale and pace of technology and capital mobilization needed across the country,and highlight the implications for land use,incumbent energy industries,employment,and health.Initial results were released December 15,in recognition of the urgency to cut greenhouse gas emissions and the need for immediate federal,state,and local policy making efforts.Journal publications will follow in early 2021. 查看详细>>

In 2019,GHL piloted asecond course,“History Dialogues”(HD),which builds upon the work of“A History of the World.”It provides learners with training in additional historical research methods.Learners have embarked on independent research projects that they then shared with their global colleagues,creating new knowledge and narratives that connect local stories to global themes.Now,GHL has received a$2.4 million multi-year grant from the Open Society University Network(OSUN)to expand its reach to international students at 21 institutions and NGOs worldwide.Housed in the Princeton Institute of International and Regional Studies(PIIRS),GHL uses technology,pedagogical practices and training in oral history methods to educate students about the history of globalization and prepare them to become knowledge producers for awider world.GHL was established by Jeremy Adelman,the Henry Charles Lea Professor of History. 查看详细>>

The funding will support work on ahigh-throughput system to explore how protein interactions give rise to health and disease,a new type of laser that promotes speedier communications and brighter screen displays,and anovel method for harvesting water from air that could transform the habitability and productivity of arid regions.The goal of the fund is to enable researchers to make leaps rather than incremental advances in the natural sciences and engineering.The fund focuses on projects that lead either to the invention of adisruptive new technology that can have amajor impact on afield of research,or on the development of equipment or an enabling technology that will transform research in afield.Eric Schmidt,former CEO of Google,and his wife,Wendy,a businesswoman and philanthropist,created the fund in 2009.Schmidt earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Princeton in 1976 and served as aPrinceton trustee from 2004 to 2008.“These projects have the potential to make revolutionary advances through new tools or technologies that transform how researchers pursue answers to today’s challenges,”said Dean for Research Pablo Debenedetti,the Class of 1950 Professor in Engineering and Applied Science,and aprofessor of chemical and biological engineering.“The projects selected for funding this year are emblematic of Princeton’s dedication to innovative research that leads eventually to benefits for society.”The winning proposals were selected by acommittee of peers.The three winning technologies are highlighted below.The group photos were taken before social distancing protocols were implemented to limit the spread of the coronavirus. 查看详细>>

Until now,this has been the situation for the bits of hardware that make up asilicon quantum computer,a type of quantum computer with the potential to be cheaper and more versatile than today’s versions.Now ateam based at Princeton University has overcome this limitation and demonstrated that two quantum-computing components,known as silicon“spin”qubits,can interact even when spaced relatively far apart on acomputer chip.The study was published in the journal Nature.silicon-spin quantum bit Researchers at Princeton University have made an important step forward in the quest to build aquantum computer using silicon components,which are prized for their low cost and versatility compared to the hardware in today’s quantum computers.The team showed that asilicon-spin quantum bit(shown in the box)can communicate with another quantum bit located asignificant distance away on acomputer chip.The feat could enable connections between multiple quantum bits to perform complex calculations. 查看详细>>

“Princeton’s informal motto is‘In the nation’s service and the service of humanity,’”said Priestley,who is also aprofessor of chemical and biological engineering.“Our innovation efforts are very much in support of that motto.”He continued,“Our goal is to shorten the timeline between when fundamental research discoveries are made and when those discoveries have abeneficial impact on people’s lives.”Priestley made the remarks at Celebrate Princeton Innovation(CPI),an event that highlights the work of faculty and student researchers who are making discoveries and creating inventions with the potential for having broad societal impact,including in areas such as health and the environment.The gathering attracts members of the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem outside the University—such as members of the venture capital community,industry,as well as representatives from state and local governments—who come to learn about the newest University discoveries and meet the faculty and staff engaged in Princeton’s innovation initiative.The event,which was held in the Frick Chemistry Laboratory Atrium,is hosted by the Office of the Dean for Research. 查看详细>>

This year,Princeton University is celebrating its 25th anniversary of research,teaching and collaboration at the Mpala Research Centre in Laikipia County,Kenya,while looking toward deepening engagement for the future.Mpala,an independent Kenyan nonprofit,comprises 48,000 acres of privately owned conservation lands managed by the University in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution,the National Museums of Kenya and the Kenya Wildlife Service.“Mpala is one of the world’s leading field-based research centers for the study of ecology,conservation,public health and sustainable development,”said Aly Kassam-Remtulla,vice provost for international affairs and operations(acting).“It offers aunique opportunity for Kenyan and international scholars to conduct experiments on alandscape scale.It also has unique resources including the first field-based genomics laboratory in Africa.As we mark our silver anniversary,we see opportunities for greater engagement of Princeton students and scholars,African scientists and conservationists,and many other neighbors and partners in the Laikipia region.”Watch adocumentary on Mpala. 查看详细>>

Researchers on the project will design and implement methods,tools and databases to advance urban food-systems research in multiple disciplines,including environmental and civil engineering,public policy,earth science and applied economics.The researchers also hope to develop effective methods for influencing people’s behavior related to their diet and food choices.“So little is known about the role of urban food systems in the context of local and global sustainability,”said lead investigator Anu Ramaswami,the Sanjay Swani’87 Professor of India Studies and professor of civil and environmental engineering,the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies,and the Princeton Environmental Institute.“Our research group will focus on the co-benefits of urban agriculture and novel food-waste management systems that are being considered in different cities worldwide,”Ramaswami said.“We will be developing methods to assess their benefits to the environment,human health and people’s emotional well-being.The potential benefits include carbon mitigation,healthy diets and nutrition,reducing the effects of extreme heat and flooding,waste reduction,and simply making people happier.” 查看详细>>

Artificial intelligence(AI)in combination with sensor technology and robotics are likely to change the way we all perceive and respond to social and environmental changes.How can we ensure that applications of artificial intelligence help us address these urgent challenges?On Oct.15,Princeton University joined representatives from U.S.and Swedish academia,Swedish government,Google,Ericsson,USAID,U.N.Development Programme and U.N.Global Pulse,to launch aproject that will explore how applications of artificial intelligence can help accelerate innovations in line with targets set by the U.N.Sustainable Development Goals.The project—AI,People&Planet—is aresearch initiative hosted by the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies(PIIRS),the Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences,and the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University.The group aims to advance both innovative research and action,and explore the challenges rapid technological change pose for biosphere based sustainability.AI,People&Planet’s research projects explore such issues as deep learning for the biosphere,human-machine ecology and systemic risks;trolls,bots and disinformation;smart cities;planet-centric business intelligence;and studies of collective action.PIIRS is involved through their Global Systemic Risk project.“In aworld as complex and interconnected as ours,the black box of AI represents agovernance challenge.How can we make use of the opportunities provided by AI,while also making sure that we have the constraints and control needed?The potential for applications of AI for agricultural production are tremendous,but we need to make sure these do not create new unexpected risks,”said Miguel Centeno,vice dean at Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the Musgrave Professor of Sociology and Professor of Sociology and International Affairs.“It’s becoming increasingly clear that the world not only needs responsible AI,but planetary responsible AI,”said Victor Galaz,deputy director at the Stockholm Resilience Centre Stockholm University and one of the founders of the initiative.“We need to have aserious discussion across academia,civil society,policy and business about how AI can help expand our planetary support systems—climate stability,biodiversity and living oceans.Otherwise,these technologies may well lead to accelerated climate and ecological disruption.”“Sweden is at the forefront of research and development in artificial intelligence,but it is only through strong partnerships between business,academia and government that we can unleash AI’s full potential and realize the social and economic benefits we hope to achieve,”said Annika Rembe,consul general of Sweden in New York.The kickoff event took place Oct.15 at the Swedish Residence in New York City.For more information,visit the AI,People&Planet website. 查看详细>>

A ribbon-cutting ceremony in Princeton’s High-Performance Computing Research Center on Sept.30 kicked off the University’s official launch of its newest supercomputer,called Traverse,which joins four other distinct computing clusters available to the University research community.“We are delighted to unveil Traverse,our new Department of Energy(DOE)‘Leadership Class’compatible computing cluster,”said David McComas,vice president for the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory(PPPL)and professor of astrophysical sciences.“This is an important milestone in Princeton University’s increased collaboration with the DOE in support of basic plasma physics and the U.S.fusion energy mission.”Traverse is a1.4 petaflop High-Performance Computing(HPC)cluster that shares the same Graphics Processing Unit(GPU)and Central Processing Unit(CPU)architecture as the supercomputers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory(ORNL)and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.Traverse is currently one of the largest systems at Princeton and in the top 500 systems in the world.Curt Hillegas,associate CIO,Research Computing,Office of Information Technology and the Princeton Institute for Computational Science and Engineering(PICSciE)and amember of the PPPL advisory board who led the project to purchase and install the cluster,said:“Traverse is amini version of ORNL’s Summit,thereby providing astepping stone for the research community to one of the world’s fastest supercomputers.Getting experience using Traverse will allow our research groups to adapt their codes,so they can use the current leadership-class machines and be best prepared for the new exascale systems—capable of at least one exaFLOPS,or abillion billion calculations per second—expected to come online in the upcoming two years.”Exascale speeds are expected to help fusion researchers finally clear the remaining hurdles in the development of safe and sustainable fusion energy.“At that scale we will be able to simulate and optimize fusion reactors,speeding the deployment of fusion energy in the global battle against climate change,”explained Steven Cowley,PPPL director.“We are very grateful to the University for this marvelous facility.”Plasma,the hot ionized gas that fuels fusion reactions,must be heated to very high temperatures for the particles to fuse and release their energy.The focus of much fusion research is preventing the swings in density and temperature that cause instabilities such as plasma disruptions,edge localized modes and energetic-particle driven modes.Machine learning(ML)techniques are helping researchers create better models for rapid control and containment of plasma. 查看详细>>

Home to about 3million people,one of the world’s busiest airports and sensitive coastal ecosystems,Jamaica Bay is alagoon bordered by Brooklyn and Queens at the southeastern edge of Long Island.This region is vulnerable to an evolving set of threats,including sea-level rise,increasingly intense storms and shifting rainfall patterns.This complexity makes it aperfect place to apply the cross-disciplinary approach that ateam of Princeton researchers is bringing to improving the resilience of New York and other coastal cities.Culminating years of research funded by the National Science Foundation and supported by the Princeton Environmental Institute,the Princeton team recently published a170-page report that details existing conditions,analyzes climate and sea-level trends,and proposes solutions to protect Jamaica Bay’s neighborhoods,infrastructure and ecology.“We are exploring ways to build resilience that is multilayered and multifaceted,”said Guy Nordenson,professor of architecture and affiliated member of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.Along with Nordenson,principal collaborators at Princeton include Ning Lin,associate professor of civil and environmental engineering,and Michael Oppenheimer,the Albert G.Milbank Professor of Geosciences and International Affairs and the Princeton Environmental Institute.In the Jamaica Bay report,the authors propose atwo-tiered set of storm barriers:an outer 6.7-mile barrier linking high ground to the north and south of the bay could be closed to protect John F.Kennedy International Airport and other critical areas against extreme events;while alower,more inland barrier would provide passive protection against tidal flooding as sea levels rise,yet preserve the ecology of the marshes. 查看详细>>