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Global Challenges and the Role of Research Universities Mark S. Wrighton Honorary Professor, Shandong University October 14, 2008
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Washington University 2008, top overlap schools: Duke, Harvard, Stanford, Penn, Northwestern ~22,000 applications for 1430 positions 95% of students in top 10% of high school class Ave. SAT of 1446 Brookings Hall
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2008 National Champions!
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Danforth University Center
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Seigle Hall
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Exploring Mars Prof. R. Arvidson in Arts & Sciences New facilities for Earth and Planetary Sciences dedicated in Spring, 2005
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Washington U. Collaborations with Shandong U. July 2007: Workshop and Summer School on Lunar Science and Planetary Data Analysis, Shandong University-Weihai Campus Summer 2008: Workshop on use of the Planetary Data System for Weihai Campus students December 2007: Shandong students Zongcheng Ling and Jiang Zhang conclude year-long studies at Washington University
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Brown School of Social Work Doubling of space completed in 1998 Center for Social Development, Individual Development Accounts Mental Health Services Research Center Goldfarb Hall, 1998
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Washington U. Collaborations with Shandong U. 2004: Shandong U. hosted first conference in China on Asset Building and Social Development Summer 2009: Conference on Productive Aging to be hosted by Shandong U.
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Global Challenges of the 21 st Century Energy, Environment, Sustainability Water Poverty Human Health Food Supply International Security Aging, Growing Population
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Source: Population Reference Bureau, 2005 World Population Data Sheet. Projected Population Change (by Country) Percent Population Change, 2005-2050
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Population Growth By Country Population Reference Bureau, 2008 (millions)
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Sources: Carl Haub, 2006 World Population Data Sheet. The World’s 15 ‘Oldest’ Countries and the U.S. Percent Age 65 or Older
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Population Ages 65 and Older Percent Source: United Nations, World Population Prospects: The 2004 Revision (medium scenario), 2005. Trends in Aging by Region
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Projected World Population, by Sex, at Specified Age Groups, 2025 Percent Source: United Nations, World Population Prospects:The 2004 Revision (medium scenario), 2005. Men Women
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% of Elderly (65+) in China’s Population, 1950-2050 Aging in China Source: World Population Prospects: The 2004 Revision (2005).
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Population Structures by Age and Sex (Millions) 19502000 MaleFemaleMaleFemale Age Source: World Population Prospects: The 2004 Revision (2005). China’s Age Distribution 80+ 75-79 70-74 65-69 60-64 55-59 50-54 45-49 40-44 35-39 30-34 25-29 20-24 15-19 10-14 5-9 0-4 Age 2050 Female 80+ 75-79 70-74 65-69 60-64 55-59 50-54 45-49 40-44 35-39 30-34 25-29 20-24 15-19 10-14 5-9 0-4 Male
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Population Living on Less Than US$2 per Day 2002, % Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators 2006.
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Opportunities in Science and Technology This is the “age of biology” – Agriculture – Human health – Bioenergy, new chemical feedstocks New ability to manipulate structure and composition of complex materials systems Nanotechnology
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William E. Clarke, GE Healthcare
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John Leonard, Abbott Laboratories
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Chad A. Mirkin, Northwestern
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Adjusted for desired properties Treatment Type Ionic (+ and -) Non-ionic Hydrophilic/hydrophobic Polymers Negative/Positive Organic/inorganic Small molecules/polymers Pigment Type Black Cyan Magenta Yellow... Commercial R&D Cabot Pigment Treatment Technology James Belmont, Cabot Corporation ( R X ) n Treatment Level Counterion Type
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K. K. Sankaran, Boeing
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G. Kishore, DuPont Company
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Energy and Environment Three aspirations: – Abundant energy at affordable cost – Minimize effects on the environment – Achieve “energy security” Addressing global environmental challenges is a new cost. How much will we be willing to pay? Options to address carbon dioxide accumulation are limited: solar the ultimate solution?
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New “Cost”: Environmental Degradation Global warming from accumulation of greenhouse gases….consequences? Diminished biodiversity? So what? What price are we willing to pay to address the environmental challenges?
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The Future Conservation Efficiency Improvements Expand existing system Systems for mitigating CO 2 New energy resources
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What is to be done with CO 2 ? Like energy production itself, the scale is staggering. Geological “storage”? Photobiological reduction to fuels? Electrochemical reduction using electricity from nuclear/solar power?
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Global Energy Consumption Today: ~14 Terawatts 2050: ~30 Terawatts estimated Scale, assuming all needs provided by nuclear: – 16 Terawatts = 16,000 Gigawatt nuclear plants – About one gigawatt nuclear plant every day for forty years! – Cost: $5 billion per plant, $80 trillion total
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Solar Energy Potential Theoretical: ~1.7 x10 5 TW What is practical achievement? Efficiency? Photosynthesis: ~ 90 TW
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Solar Energy Photovoltaics Large land area Electricity is product & collected by wires Power conversion & storage needed Cells are efficient, but expensive Energy “pay back” Bioenergy Large land area Biomass is product & collected with machines Biomass to useful liquid fuels occurs in “refinery” Efficiency, cost? Energy “pay back”?
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Solar Energy Conversion Works! Global Energy Consumption: ~14 TW Global Energy for Human Life, i.e. Food – ~Ten billion people (rounding up) – 100 W/person caloric intake – ~One terrawatt from agriculture Agricultural productivity increased more than population growth for ~50 years
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Storage and Retrieval for Solar and Wind Electrolysis H 2 O + electricity = H 2 + ½O 2 Fuel Cells H 2 + ½O 2 = H 2 O + electricity
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Energy and Environment: New Materials Architectural materials Smart windows Photovoltaics Lighting Environmental control systems and devices Catalysts
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Keys to Continued Success Sustained commitment Talented people Capitalize on new science Build collaborations Respond to technological changes Respond to society’s needs Relentless quest for excellence
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