'Tech-ing' Us Forward

Until the turn of the century, quantum phenomena such as entanglement and superposition were almost considered a curiosity stemming from the complex mathematical description of quantum mechanics. That is, until the scientific community set a sharper and sharper focus on the potential practical consequences of these wonders. From entanglement to quantum computation, from teleportation to quantum communication, this talk will bring you on a journey along the magical world of the second quantum revolution.

Most of our planet is covered by the ocean. Most of the ocean has never been seen, observed or measured by humans in any way. Current developments in underwater technologies make it increasingly possible to monitor and explore the ocean at a much larger scale than ever before. There are many academic and industrial applications of such technologies, from marine sciences (e.g. marine animal tracking, underwater archeology) and environmental monitoring (seismic activity, water pollution, underwater currents etc.), to off-shore industries (e.g. monitoring off-shore wind farms, oil platforms, subsea pipelines and cables), and defence. In this talk I will discuss the recent advancements in ocean technologies and what their real-world applications are, including technologies developed at York.

This talk will highlight the many different ways through which automation and robots are helping to grow food more sustainably. Robots not only help in food growth but also in maintaining food security by creating a holistic ecosystem to combat labour issues and the increasing scarcity of water resources.

Nature has mastered the art of building complex, efficient structures through processes like morphogenesis where cells and tissues self-organize in response to environmental cues. By mimicking these growth strategies, algorithms can design smarter, adaptive systems that are more resilient, efficient, and sustainable.