Grand Challenges and Photonics

1
Grand Challenges and Photonics
www.supa.ac.uk
photonics_at_supa.ac.uk
Scottish Universities Physics Alliance

• SUPA provides Scottish researchers in Photonics
  with the scale to take on major research
  challenges, including some which might be
  categorised as Grand Challenges.
• These boxes provide a discussion of the Grand
  Challenge concept, and a synopsis of the four
  (out of six) Millennium challenges identified
  by the NAS to which Photonics seems highly
  relevant.

"Physics in a New Era (US NAS 2001) 1.
DEVELOPING QUANTUM TECHNOLOGIES Ability to
manipulate individual atoms and molecules will
lead to new quantum technologies with
applications from the development of new
materials to the analysis of the human genome.
New technologies with construction and operation
entirely at the quantum level. Instruments of
extraordinary sensitivity, quantum computation,
quantum cryptography, and quantum-controlled
chemistry are likely. 2. UNDERSTANDING COMPLEX
SYSTEMS Theoretical advances and large-scale
computer modelling will enable phenomena as
complicated as the death of stars and the
properties of complex materials to be understood.
Problems that may soon be rendered tractable
include turbulence and other nonlinear phenomena
in fluids and plasmas, the origin of large-scale
structure in the universe, and a variety of
quantum many-body challenges in condensed matter,
nuclear, atomic, and biological systems. 3.
APPLYING PHYSICS TO BIOLOGY Because all
essential biological mechanisms ultimately depend
on physical interactions between molecules,
physics lies at the heart of the most profound
insights into biology. Current challenges include
the biophysics of cellular electrical activity
underlying the functioning of the nervous,
circulatory and respiratory systems the
biomechanics of biological motors the mechanical
and electrical properties of DNA and the enzymes
essential for all cellular processes. 4.
CREATING NEW MATERIALS Novel materials will be
discovered, understood, and employed widely.
Several themes and challenges synthesis,
processing, and understanding of complex
materials composed of more and more elements
role of molecular geometry and motion in only one
or two dimensions incorporation of new materials
and structures in existing technologies
development of new techniques for materials
synthesis, perhaps mimicking biological processes
such as self-assembly control of a variety of
poorly understood, non-equilibrium processes
(e.g. turbulence, cracks, and adhesion) that
affect material properties. Four (of six)topics
extracted/adapted from http//www.aip.org/fyi/200
1/090.html

• SUGGESTED CRITERIA FOR A GRAND CHALLENGE
  PROBLEM
• It arises from scientific curiosity about the
  foundation, nature or limits of a discipline.
• It gives scope for ambition to build something
  that has never been seen before.
• It will be obvious how far and when the
  challenge has been met (or not).
• It has support from (almost) the entire research
  community, even those not involved.
• It has international scope participation would
  increase the research profile of a nation.
• It is generally comprehensible, and captures the
  imagination of the public.
• It was formulated long ago, and still stands.
• It requires development of understanding,
  techniques and tools unknown at the start.
• It calls for planned co-operation among
  identified research teams and communities.
• It benefits from competition among teams, with
  clear criteria on who is winning.
• It decomposes into identified intermediate
  research goals, whose achievement
• It brings scientific or economic benefit, even
  if the project as a whole fails.
• It is not likely to be met simply from
  commercially motivated evolutionary advance.
• SOME EXAMPLES OF GRAND CHALLENGES
• Put a man on the moon within ten years
  (accomplished, 1960s)
• Cure cancer within ten years (failed, 1970s)
• Prove Fermat's last theorem (accomplished)
• The Turing test (inactive)