Page - 29 - in options, Volume summer 2016

institute news 29summer 2016 + optionswww.iiasa.ac.at news at iiasa Science Advisory Committee In April IIASA hosted its annual Science  Advisory Committee meeting, chaired for the second year by Professor Mary Scholes of the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. 15 leading scientists from 13 countries came  to IIASA to discuss current and future  research activities. Agenda items included the new IIASA Research Plan 2016–2020, IIASA  Highlights 2011–2015, and the ongoing  cross‑cutting initiatives. www.iiasa.ac.at/events/SAC-16 Sustainable development advisory  group IIASA Deputy Director General Nebojsa  Nakicenovic was appointed by  UN  Secretary‑General Ban Ki‑Moon to  serve on a special advisory group from civil society, the private sector, and the scientific community which will support the Technology Facilitation Mechanism. The latter is a key part of the post‑2015 architecture for the implementation of the  Sustainable Development Goals. www.iiasa.ac.at/news/Naki-TFM-16 Public lecture series As part of the joint IIASA—Austrian Academy of Sciences lecture series, IIASA hosted “Human Capital, Geopolitical Complexities, and our Sustainable Future” in early March. The public event featured a book launch of Who survives? Education Decides the Future of Humanity, by Population Program Director Wolfgang  Lutz, and a keynote address by Professor Dr.  Shalini Randeria of the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna. A  high‑level panel discussion followed. Videos of the  event are available online. www.iiasa.ac.at/events/lecture-1603 YSSP class of 2016 This summer IIASA welcomes 51 young scientists, hailing  from 26  countries, to its annual Young  Scientists Summer Program. From June through August participants will  be working on independent research projects in collaboration with IIASA researchers, the  goal being to produce a publishable paper. A  Science Communication Intern, a  new addition to the program this year, will be working alongside YSSPers to help  them communicate their research to a broader  audience. www.iiasa.ac.at/news/yssp-16 Systems Analysis 2015 I IASA hosted Systems Analysis 2015, an international conference bringing together over 50 speakers and 300 researchers from around the world to discuss the current state and future directions of systems analysis. This conference, inaugural in a planned series of similar events, was dedicated to Howard Raiffa, for his outstanding contributions to the field. Through this event, IIASA—in partnership with the Santa Fe Institute, the Complexity Institute at Nanyang Technological University, and the Institute for Operations Research and Management Sciences—aimed to appraise the state of the art of systems analysis, identify gaps in current approaches, and inspire transdisciplinary thinking. “The conference took us on an intellectual journey: from where systems analysis currently stands, to where the challenges are located, to identifying methods that will help us address these challenges,” said Ulf Dieckmann, Evolution and Ecology Program director. The multiple challenges confronting systems analysis were discussed, including hidden uncertainties, the growing complexity of policymaking, and the integration of economic sectors, which must be mirrored by the integration of models. Analyses of human behavior should go beyond stylized optimization assumptions, toward respecting apparent irrationalities, a plurality of social norms, and collective phenomena. Complex, nonlinear responses of the environment to anthropogenic drivers, which will change over time, must be addressed. The advent of “big data”—involving data sets that are much larger or wide‑ranging than conventional approaches used to handle—requires innovative algorithms for assimilation and analysis. Finally, regional models must be scaled up to enable global predictions, as well as scaled down, to guide local actions. “The demand for systems thinking and analysis is on the rise. Our capabilities are also rapidly growing,” said Elena Rovenskaya, Advanced Systems Analysis Program director. “While systems analysis has developed a diverse range of approaches, and methods are constantly advancing, we must push the envelope of methodology at the same time as utilizing existing methods for new applications.” DB sa2015.iiasa.ac.at SYSTEMS ANALYSIS 2015 IIASA Director General/CEO Pavel  Kabat (center), conference chair; Elena  Rovenskaya (left) &  Ulf Dieckmann (right), vice-chair. Award for best conference poster went to Jukka Käyhkö et  al. from the University  of Turku for “Reindeer Husbandry as a Social-ecological System in a Warming Climate.”