Some fields I’m thinking about
Agriculture
Food and water scarcity has the highest probability of causing worldwide social turmoil. Reducing the impact of water and food scarcity and climate change will need the following initiatives:
1. Crop protection: heat and drought tolerance, protection again pests and disease
2. Better irrigation: applying water directly to roots and maximizing direction of water using dams and channels
3. Integrated fertilizer management: using new fertilizers and composting agents along with developing plants that have higher response rates
4. Soil management: improved methods to reduce soil disturbance and soil regeneration
5. Precision agriculture: machine assisted solutions that synthesize various forms of data to increase yields
Climate Engineering
Climate engineering is a way for humans to adapt to their new environment. Whether on Earth or a newly terraformed planet, controlling the climate combines geosciences with engineering and computation. There are two important types of climate engineering:
1. Solar radiation management — aerosols in the stratosphere, orbiting sunshades
2. Carbon dioxide removal — carbon removal, algae growth
With increasing global temperatures, tinkering with Earth’s climate could be used to offset global warming.
Bio-security
Seamlessly reversing biological modifications of our environment. Synthetic biology could be misused for warfare or terrorism. With increased access to biology, new methods to identify risks and reverse adverse changes will become of the utmost importance for the longevity of humanity.
Neuroscience
Modification of behavior using an understanding of the human brain to improve cooperation and productivity. The organization of the brain circuitry constantly changes across time. The plasticity of the brain is influenced by a myriad of factors such as drugs, hormones, maturation, aging, diet, disease, and stress. With a greater understanding of neuroscience, society can begin to create new models of organization to maximize human potential.
