The science communities working on the current “big ticket items” like climate change, mitigation and adaptation, energy transitions, biodiversity, food security, and other global challenges under the U.N. Agenda 2030, have been historically “disconnected” from the biological research in all its forms. Yet, scientists working in fields such as cellular and molecular biology, biochemistry, neuroscience, human cognition, behavior, and public health can bring vital perspectives and can help close persistent gaps in our understanding of how the living parts of Earth’s systems interact with, and potentially regulate, key systems.

Discussions will include key systems, such as: Earth’s climate, the carbon cycle, prevailing ocean currents, and interfaces at biomes. Many potential solutions have not yet been explored. Innovative multidisciplinary studies have, in recent years, helped to bridge some of these knowledge gaps, but what is missing is a holistic integrative approach, connecting the fragments in a meaningful way to better understand and tackle some of these critical problems and fuel the transition to sustainability.

The Science Symposium aims to bring these disparate science communities together and provide an arena to forge new approaches and partnerships among scientists. The discussion will focus on a diverse range of fields, including, but not limited to:

– Biology, physiology, neurobiology, and molecular biology
– Anthropology, sociology, and behaviorial science
– Marine science, ecosystems, agriculture, land use science
– Climate science, atmospheric science, and hydrology
– Demography, geography
– All forms of engineering
– Chemistry, physics
– Data science, technology

Anyone working in a related focus is also welcome to attend.