Renewables need a grand-challenge strategy

A Grand Challenge

Interactive Numbers a Grand Challenge

Numbers are used everywhere, but today numbers are mostly created and used interactively; they are not just passive written objects. People interact with numbers in almost every area of life. However, different styles of interactive number have different design trade-offs, particularly when human error is considered. To date, human error in interactive numbers has hardly been explored, resultin...

A Grand Challenge for Nutrigenomics

The low hanging fruit in genetics research has mostly been harvested, and now the work of studying genes as part of systems biology is well underway. Metabolism and nutrition seem to be an ideal complex system in which to apply the knowledge and methods of genetics and genomics. Diet is perhaps the most important environmental factor we are exposed to. Nutritional factors are thought to be the ...

Paleoecology grand challenge

Exactly 50 years ago, in 1964, a landmark article whose two-word title, “Strong inference,” revealed little and evoked plenty, appeared in the hallowed pages of Science (Platt, 1964). Simply stated, Platt’s view of scientific research in its highest form proceeds through three steps: development of alternative hypotheses; design of crucial experiments to exclude one or more hypotheses; executio...

The Verification Grand Challenge

This paper overviews the Verification Grand Challenge, a large scale multinational intiative designed to significantly increase the interoperability, applicability and uptake of formal development techniques. Results to date are reviewed, and next steps are outlined.