Dick Co, research associate professor of chemistry at Northwestern University, delivered one of three opening keynote addresses at the first annual United Nations Forum on Science, Technology, and Innovation in New York June 6. Co, invited by the U.S. Department of State, joined other scientists, entrepreneurs, and executives asked to address the global challenges identified by the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals.
During his remarks to an audience of 400 excellencies, distinguished delegates, and stakeholders, Co, managing director of the Solar Fuels Institute (SOFI), highlighted SOFI’s work to make a cost-competitive, carbon-neutral solar fuel from sunlight, water and air. SOFI is a one of four research centers within the Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern (ISEN).
“Answering the United Nations’ call for solutions will require that nations leverage existing infrastructures to turn scientific breakthroughs into scalable technologies and implement effective policies toward the Sustainable Development Goals,” Co said.
The Forum was co-chaired by Dr. Vaughan Turekian, science and technology adviser to the Secretary of State of the U.S., and Ambassador Macharia Kamau, permanent representative of Kenya to the United Nations. Ambassador Kamau commented on the urgent need for the Forum to facilitate stakeholder collaborations that translate to impact.
“This Forum cannot be just a talk show. We’re going to have to figure out how the outcomes of the collective efforts are systematized in a way in which they can be picked up and used, and really impact the work we’re trying to do as the United Nations,” he said.
A Knowledge Platform for the 21st Century
Co challenged Member States to support and build on the innovations developed in their countries.
To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030,” he said “we will need a paradigm shift on how science interfaces with technology and how it enables innovators from around the world.”
To this effect, Co proposed creating a classification system for innovation that links basic research output—measurements and data—to the Sustainable Development Goals. He cited the example of the SOFI Knowledge Map, a unique database that the Institute developed to accelerate the development of knowledge and catalyze innovation within any academic field, starting with solar fuels.
The SOFI Knowledge Map presently contains 60,000 entries from 100 countries and nearly 3,000 journals, providing researchers with intuitive access to a coherent, searchable knowledge database.
Ultimately, it aims to encompass the entire body of scholarly work around solar fuels and accelerate the pace of innovation and commercialization of the technology.
“Collectively, Member States of the United Nations invest hundreds of billions of dollars a year in basic research at universities and government labs,” Co said. “ With modern tools now available to us, we can create a better platform where science meets technology.”
He highlighted the example set by Northwestern and other global SOFI consortia members, including the Swedish Consortium for Artificial Photosynthesis, the Max Planck institute for Chemical Energy Conversion in Germany, the Solar Fuels Network in the United Kingdom, and the Korea Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, and invited Member States of the United Nations to join the effort.
While the Knowledge Map is primarily used by SOFI consortia members, Co stressed that the opportunities for extension to other fields and a variety of users are endless.
“Imagine an innovator in one part of the world working on clean water and sanitation technologies or on quality education programs. Wouldn’t it be more effective if she can have the world’s research and knowledge readily available at her fingertips?” Co asked.
Co was joined by Dean Kamen, president of DEKA Research and Development and founder of FIRST, a program that engages young people through opportunities in research and robotics, and Komal Ahmad, founder and CEO of COPIA, a company that uses technology to streamline the process of food donation and distribution.