Schmidt Sciences

Join Schmidt Sciences and the Keeling Curve Foundation live in New York during Climate Week 2024 for a series of inspiring and thought-provoking talks on the critical role long-term observations play in climate policies. When: September 25th at 3 PM EDT Where: 11th Floor, 155 W. 23rd St., NYC Register to attend in person or online: https://lnkd.in/eMSi54Fn Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eDKG-xWm

Congratulations to the six new members of the Schmidt Sciences Polymath Program! Recognized for their work to push disciplinary boundaries in the pursuit of breakthrough discoveries, these researchers will each receive a total of up to $2.5 million over five years. They join a community of 21 Polymaths from around the world who are pursuing projects ranging from climate change mitigation to searching for exotic forms of matter. Curiosity doesn’t operate in a silo, and neither should science. That’s why we support several initiatives to enable researchers to pursue interdisciplinary hypotheses, in collaboration. The Schmidt Sciences Polymath Program allows bold, creative thinkers to seek knowledge across boundaries and in doing so, to help all of us better understand the deep interconnections between people, planet and universe. https://lnkd.in/gH5dHK3i

We’re excited to recognize six researchers as the 2024 awardees of the Schmidt Sciences Polymath Program. These boundary-pushing professors have demonstrated high-impact research and high-variance thinking in their pursuit of scientific breakthroughs: https://lnkd.in/egZB4TWq 2024 Schmidt Sciences Polymath Awardees: Ashleigh Theberge, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Adjunct Associate Professor of Urology, University of Washington Lawrence David, Associate Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Molecular Genetics and Microbiology Neil Dasgupta, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering, University of Michigan Orit Peleg, Associate Professor of Computer Science, University of Colorado BioFrontiers Institute Sam Gershman, Professor of Psychology, Center for Brain Science, Harvard University Stephanie Palmer, Associate Professor of Organismal Biology and Anatomy and Physics, University of Chicago

It’s 2050. AI has turned out to be hugely beneficial to society. What happened? Fellows from Schmidt Sciences’ AI2050 program –– whose work spans a variety of disciplines, including computer science, philosophy, economics, political science, earth sciences, and religious studies –– recently convened in San Francisco to contend with this motivating question and present the projects that they are working on in order to ensure society benefits from AI. “AI is now ubiquitous in our daily lives, and the race is on to get it right,” said James Manyika, co-chair of AI2050. “If AI is to have benefited humanity when we look back in 2050, we need to begin now to confront and solve for the challenges and opportunities. We have to evolve our society’s systems and institutions to negotiate the complexities of how to be human in an age of increasingly powerful technology.” Learn more about AI2050: https://lnkd.in/dgkrB3DP

When people see themselves in science, they’re better able to make informed decisions about their own lives, and they may feel inspired to start their own career in STEM. 2023 award winners Xavier Cortada, Saad B., Andrea Obaid Carrión, Janina M Jeff,PhD, MS, and Yvette Cabrera discuss the importance of representation in STEM, how science communication can engage communities who have been historically marginalized, and the power of inclusion in science. The National Academies’ Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications, given by The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in partnership with Schmidt Sciences, honor exceptional science communicators, journalists, and research scientists who have developed creative, original work to communicate issues and advances in science, engineering, and/or medicine for the general public. Learn more about our program and the 2023 winners at: https://lnkd.in/gE7XfUbQ #representationinSTEM #sciencecommunication #diversityinSTEM

I applaud Schmidt Sciences for their effort to bring AI tools to Humanities research. As someone with a background in both physics and humanities, and a career in emerging tech and technology strategy, I've always incorporated human systems and humanities perspectives into my work. It's refreshing to see humanities as the potential target for an emerging technology. The launch of the Humanities and AI Virtual Institute is an exciting development. To humanities researchers in my network: Schmidt Sciences is seeking two-page concept papers describing visionary projects merging AI and the humanities that will lead to bold and innovative research, technology, datasets, methods, and/or applications of AI to humanities research questions. Selected concept papers will be invited to an inaugural conference of HAVI to be held September 11-13, 2024 at the University of Oxford. Papers will be accepted starting FRIDAY 8/23.

How can the world work together to create a more sustainable and circular bioeconomy? With support from Schmidt Sciences, an international group of experts representing academia, industry, and government recently released a report on standardizing the bioeconomy –– the economic activity driven by research and innovation in the life sciences and biotechnology. “At least 50 nations have tailored bioeconomy strategies or policies steering towards a sustainable bioeconomy, yet we still lack a shared lexicon or standards to facilitate collaboration,” said Andrea Hodgson, Ph.D., program scientist at Schmidt Sciences. “This report identifies key areas where developing standards and metrics could transform the industry—and lead us to develop essential biological solutions for global challenges like the climate crisis.” Representatives from the four partner organizations joined regional stakeholders from the Americas, Europe, and Asia to identify 10 key focus areas. These range from technical areas such as data standards, common definitions, and metrics to quantify and scale up biological processes, to non-technical areas vital for the growth of the bioeconomy, including public engagement and regulatory clarity to aid the safe and efficient commercialization of new products. Read the full report: https://lnkd.in/eunTsxdK

Introducing the new Schmidt Sciences logo. Our new emblem is inspired by the concept of a moonshot and our commitment to embracing ambitious scientific endeavors. The scatterplot of points symbolizes the cosmos into which these moonshots are launched, representing optimism, opportunity, and the pursuit of the unknown. "Schmidt Sciences will be led by Dr. Stuart Feldman, President and Chief Scientist, to foster advancements in science and technology that accelerate and deepen our understanding of the natural world and develop solutions to global issues.” - Eric and Wendy Schmidt