Falling Walls Falling Walls Science Summit 2022

The ‘Arborometer’ (2018), is an interactive installation. Visitors enter a geodesic dome containing soil, water and olive trees. Inside, biosensors measure their heart rate – a physiological indicator of emotional response. The information is connected to grow lights and speakers underneath a pool of water, creating a bio-technological feedback loop…

Global Lab Network is an open science and innovation community that mobilises students, educators, innovators, and change makers for social impact. Our projects enable public understanding of science for development. Through ‘Community Action’, our members educate young learners in rural areas on environmental stewardship, design thinking, and practical science. We…

Despite some remarkable breakthroughs in the neurosciences, the human brain remains largely a mystery. Thanks to technological advances in the last few decades scientists have begun to unravel its secrets, and key discoveries promise to transform the treatment of neurological conditions. When it comes to fully comprehending the basic mechanisms…

Astrophysics: How space exploration can answer one of the most pressing questions of all time There is no planet in our solar system quite as fascinating as Mars. For centuries, the red planet has fascinated scientists and the public alike, ultimately leading to one question: Has there ever been life…

We research, develop & build anthropomimietic humanoid robots from ground up: Roboy 3.0, is friendly and connects to a remote control suit, allowing you to travel anywhere instantly.   Tags: Artificial Intelligence, Climate change, Covid-19, Digital Health, Discrimination, Diversity, Education, Engineering, Environment & Nature, Foresight, Future /green cities, Global Cooperation,…

During COVID-19, artists in Ireland had their pipeline of work instantly dry up. We launched a round of experimental virtual residencies available for makers, creators, writers, artists and designers to collaborate with scientists over five weeks. For this virtual residency, each ‘resident’ got €1000 and was paired with two advisors.…

Environmental Change: Christian Scharun investigates missing greenhouse gas emissions in datasets that contain reported data from the countries and is developing a method to adjust them with the aim of better understanding climate change.

The company is pioneering in its sector by operating the only grid-connected wave energy array floaters in the world, which is operational under a Power Purchase Agreement in Gibraltar. Upon its expansion to 5MW, this project will supply up to 15% of the country’s electricity needs. The project generates clean…

Since 1995, the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group has worked closely with federal, tribal, state, and other partners across the Northwest to prepare for and manage the local impacts of a changing climate. CIG is widely recognized for scientific discovery and as an experienced creator of impartial and actionable…

Our project focuses on inspiring people into science and technology through astronomy. We take our 12 inch computerised telescope and 8meter portable planetarium to schools and public places in an effort to inspire, engage and empower the next generation of African scientists. We invite kids for a lesson under the…

Mai-Thi’s presentation, “Breaking the Wall of the Human Cell”, focused on the latest breakthroughs in cancer research: Nano transporters breaking through the outer walls of cells in order to efficiently channel medical agents to the inside. As it attacks only cancer cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed, this method will…

Atmospheric Forest is an immersive VR artwork by artist duo Rasa Smite and Raitis Smits, visualising relations between forest emissions and climate change. It is based on Swiss climate scientist studies on ancient Alpine forests suffering from drought. The VR viewer gets immersed in a laser scanned forest with animated…

Many scholars have understood that the liberal (international) order is under stress inside and outside the “liberal core.” However, most take the state in its Weberian form for granted. Areas of limited statehood are ubiquituous and it is the combination of limited statehood and order contestations which characterizes the contemporary…

The nominating institution Leibniz University Hannover on the breakthrough: Our digital world requires new learnings like digital literacy and cross-linked cooperation for both academic courses and professional workshops. Enhanced by a COVID-19 driven higher technical readiness and openness, C Blended Learning was created combining self-study and interactive online sessions. Facing…

This Winners Session features the Top 10 Breakthroughs in the Science Start-Ups category. During this session, the entrepreneurs, who are dedicating their careers to create sustainable business to fight climate change and its myriad consequences, will introduce viewers to various topics, including how solar power could provide energy to heat-intense…

Female Leadership in Science, Business and Society The Falling Walls Foundation and the Bayer Foundation invited to a mutual networking event in July 2021. The Female Science Talents Gathering offered all participants discussion formats that allow insightful connections with outstanding female leaders and scientists. We were happy to welcome three…

Taking third place was Srilahari Namani of India. She presented a computer-aided method to rapidly identify different species of mosquitos which can be used locally to prevent diseases transmitted by mosquitos.

The Idea of this project came from famous Brain-Ring intelligence game where two groups are competing with push-buttons for quick answering to the questions from different spheres. We decided to involve university students in the organizing of the game, assembled with them the buttons and control system, wrote down logical…

Nominated by: Oxford University Hospital Presented by: Fouad Noor

Feiyang Xie’s project aims to investigate unique desert actinobacteria with potential plant growth-promoting properties under drought.

Li-ion batteries are currently the most potent and widely used energy storage concept. To render the use of Li-Ion Batteries sustainable, suitable recycling concepts are urgently needed.

PRESENTED BY Christian Aljoscha Lukas NOMINATED BY Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg Tags: Mental Health, Evidence Based

Modern Science: Understanding the Scientific Method in the 21st Century Falling Walls Circle Tables are lending the spotlight to world-leading scientists, science strategists and policy-makers from academia, business and politics discuss how we can apply science, research and innovation to get the world moving again. In the 21st Century we…

The nominating institution National University of Singapore on the breakthrough: Static charge is ubiquitous, and causes a lot of problems. It reduces the efficiency of manufacturing processes, damages equipment, causes explosions, and allows particles to stick onto surfaces easily (e.g., dust on screens). As such, it influences almost all types…

Nominated by: Australian National University Presented by: Mark Mattingley-Scott

Promotion of gender equality drives innovation both in science and in industrial organisations. However, we often fail to put scientific knowledge into practice. This Falling Walls Circle Plenary Table explores the following questions: How to implement gender equality to increase the quality of innovation? And who needs to change: decision…

As part of the initiative Making Science the Star, Stephane Kenmoe’s film series ‘Science in the City’ approaches scientific topics through cinematic storytelling in 26 episodes. Focusing on topics such as biomass, and renewable energies and AI, the film series depicts the common perception of science in Africa and the…

The nominating institution Monash on the project: Lying at the intersection between art, science and blindness, Tandori’s exhibitions use interactive sculptures to engage and inspire audiences of all ages and abilities. Her breakthrough is making art and science exhibitions inclusive, accessible and available to everyone globally. Tags: Artificial Intelligence, Discrimination,…

In this Falling Walls Breakthrough Conversation with Mark Ferguson, digital participants had the chance to discuss and ask questions. The interview series provided an intense personal atmosphere, in which high-level guests, speakers and panelists of the Falling Walls Science Summit 2021 focused on their individual research, career paths and experiences.…

In a project funded by the Federal Foreign Office, our students designed a collection of board games. Each game transforms a different aspect of politics into a board game. All board games are available as Print-and-Play PDF versions, all source files are available under a Creative Commons license, for easy…

During this Winners Session on the Top 10 breakthroughs in the Emerging Talents category, students, researchers, and early-career professionals present their solutions to some of the most pressing challenges of our time. From a fast and affordable medical device that improves neonatal health disparity to data storage revolutions, and from…

In the 1930s, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed a “New Deal” policy to overcome the Great Depression. Less than 100 years later, the world is facing an even more global challenge: the climate crisis. In this Falling Walls Plenary Table, our international panelists ask whether this requires an equally…

The production and ongoing stage performance of three original science plays viz. “The Square of a Sonnet” – which explores the history and science of black holes, “The Trial of Abdus Salam” – on the life and times of the first Muslim Nobel Laureate in Science and “The DNA of…

Living Maths initiated our annual Space Tour in 2017. We bring an astronaut to South Africa and we visit schools, science centres and offer public talks. We conduct interviews on TV, Radio and in the press. The aim is to spread the excitement of stem and encourage engagement with a…

Marcel Kempers partners with local coastal businesses to collect and apply data-to-decisions (for coral nursery planning, etc.) and with marine research organisations to advocate for participatory science.

Ahmed Albagdady encourages the shift towards automation by utilizing the well-established 3D printers’ movement mechanism to provide small & medium-sized industries with affordable and customisable 3D stages with minimal skilled labour requirements.

Progress in autonomous vehicles and digital assistants shows that today’s machines can perform certain human tasks with remarkable accuracy. But they lack versatility and only work within limited domains for which large sets of training data are available. Transfer of knowledge, common sense, and an understanding of causality are open problems.…

Our lean ecosystem generation model, emphasises maximising the number of innovation ideas explored and researchers commercially upskilled while minimising costs to support this activity across a city or economic region. We believe that by raising the level commercial awareness and connecting generations of researchers to existing local innovation activity, this…

The nominating institution Max-Planck-Gesellschaft on the breakthrough: The quest for unusual materials, such as metallic hydrogen or room-temperature superconductors, has been going on for decades. Mikhail Eremets has pioneered high pressure experiments to induce such states, which brought about innovations in materials science, but also high-pressure technology. The group has…

How to Debunk Myths About the Public Sector and Achieve More Inclusive Growth  How many times do we hear that to increase innovation and competitiveness, we need more market and less state? This commonplace position ignores history: the IT, biotech, nanotech and emerging ‘green’ revolutions have all been initiated by a courageous…

LYBOTICS is an active force in the field of robotics and STEM education, empowering more than 500 high-school students and 60 mentors from +10 cities across Libya. The initiative combines “learning by doing” and “having fun” while supporting the teams to build competition robots from scratch. LYBOTICS inspires young people…

Foresight Planning – How to Avoid Another 2020 Falling Walls Circle Tables are lending the spotlight to world-leading scientists, science strategists and policy-makers from academia, business and politics discuss how we can apply science, research and innovation to get the world moving again. COVID shocked the world, but was it…

PRESENTED BY Varinder Singh NOMINATED BY Chitkara University  

Nominated by: TU Darmstadt Presented by: Markus Hessinger

This Winners Session presents the Top 10 breakthroughs in the Science and Innovation Management category. From Stanford University to the Max Delbrück Center, and from EPFL to CERN – every institution, and with it every society, faces challenges. How to share knowledge? How to improve the Peer Review Process? How…

In this Falling Walls Breakthrough Conversation with Philippe Tanguy, digital participants had the chance to discuss and ask questions. The interview series provided an intense personal atmosphere, in which high-level guests, speakers and panelists of the Falling Walls Science Summit 2021 focused on their individual research, career paths and experiences.…

How Quantum Physics Questions Our Perception of Reality Plato’s famous Parable of the Cave illustrates the idea that human beings will never be able to see the truth until they leave the cave in which they are held prisoners, forced to watch shadows on the dark walls, and seeing only…

The nominating institution CISPA on the breakthrough: The mission: Build a Corona Warn App that warns users if they have been near an infected person. How to do this while protecting anonymity? Based on our work with DP-3T, the privacy-preserving exposure tracing protocol that makes the scientific foundation for the…

Our project is cultivating a STEM Workforce, by equipping Educators in under-represented communities with project-based learning tools, STEM resources, and refining Educator’s instructional pedagogy where students are allowed to solve ill-defined problems, make real-world connections while deepening their content knowledge and preparing them for STEM careers and future-focused options across…

The VR app makes you see what normally is invisible: Various encounters and situations of employees coming from migration or prejudiced backgrounds experience every day. The VR user encounters these people face-to-face, allowing for an immediate experience of their stories. The project is a result of an interdisciplinary team: Esther…