Global Future Challenges Blog

Plants' vital role in climate change

Posted on: 01 Feb 2012 in Interviews

Research by Professor Liam Dolan, Co-Director, Plants for the 21st Century Institute, has shown that the first land plants were an important factor in global cooling that led to ice ages between 440 and 460 million years ago, highlighting how the ... Read More »

Bringing finance back to the economy

Posted on: 17 Jan 2012 in Interviews

A lack of understanding of the interplay of the financial system with the real economy lay behind the global financial crisis, according to economist Professor John Muellbauer of the Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Mart... Read More »

Taking responsibility for protection

Posted on: 10 Jan 2012 in Interviews

In 2005 the United Nations passed a resolution calling for commitment on the part of the international community to protect populations from ethnic cleansing, war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. Research by Dr Serena Sharma, James Ma... Read More »

Website spreads the word on high income

Posted on: 29 Nov 2011 in Interviews

‘The World Top Incomes Database’ website, launched earlier this year, has been attracting global interest from academics, journalists and politicians. The website, a result of collaboration between the Institute for New Economic Thi... Read More »

Citizen science meets high speed astronomy

Posted on: 24 Nov 2011 in Interviews

Amateur astronomers are to be enlisted to help in the identification of supernovae via a new iPhone app designed by James Martin Fellow, Joe Zuntz of the Programme on Computational Cosmology. The app, Supernova Zoo, designed with the help o... Read More »

Tidal power: meeting industry needs

Posted on: 18 Nov 2011 in Interviews

A need for independent research on the functioning and efficiency of tidal turbines sparked research underway by James Martin Fellow Clarissa Belloni of the Programme on Globalising Tidal Power Generation. “The UK coastal waters conta... Read More »

Searching for the best

Posted on: 14 Nov 2011 in Interviews

How often have you been annoyed when you search the web and the search results throw up a bunch of websites with no relation to what you’re looking for? Researchers at the Institute for the Future of Computing are investigating. They ha... Read More »

Panel discussions: the future of solar

Posted on: 10 Nov 2011 in Interviews

Despite recent UK Government cuts to subsidies on solar panels, in a world where renewable energy promises a more sustainable future, the demand for solar panels continues to grow. For Dr James Kirkpatrick, James Martin Fellow, Programme... Read More »

Palm oil and biodiversity…can they go hand in hand?

Posted on: 20 Oct 2011 in Interviews

James Martin Fellow, Jake Snaddon explains his current research to Communications Officer, Julia Banfield When natural forest is converted to oil palm plantations, the effects on biodiversity are dramatic. The number and variety of anima... Read More »

Geoengineering - the last thing we need

Posted on: 11 Oct 2011 in Interviews

Tim Kruger  is the James Martin Fellow responsible for managing the Oxford Geoengineering Programme.  Geoengineering is the deliberate, large-scale intervention in the Earth’s natural systems to address climate change. A year into ... Read More »