Avi Loeb

Data are not neutral facts, but rather relational objects whose meaning can only be discerned in relation to a specific context. This “relational view” of data means that the values of those who collect, process and analyse data affect what counts as data in the first place, and how data…

In this Falling Walls Breakthrough Conversation with Liz Madaras and Mónica Feliú-Mójer, 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…

In this Falling Walls Breakthrough Conversation, digital participants had the chance to engage in a live conversation with Ting Xu. She talked about her role as Professor of Chemistry and Materials Science and Engineering at Berkeley University, her groundbreaking work on accelerating biodegradation of plastics and her hopes for the…

In this Falling Walls Breakthrough Conversation, digital participants had the chance to engage in a live conversation with Sunil Amrith, Falling Walls Breakthrough of the Year 2022 in the category of Social Sciences and Humanities. He talked about his work as a historian of South and Southeast Asia, his appeal…

Corruption is often thought of as a collection of individual venalities: a politician with a weakness for Rolex watches, an underpaid cop who looks the other way in exchange for some wadded-up bills. This image underestimates the dimensions of today’s problem. Public corruption scandals now routinely feature billion-dollar sums. Far…

The nominating institute EPFL on the breakthrough: Reward-based learning underlies important aspects of human and animal behavior, and recent advances reveal detailed understanding of the underlying neuronal mechanisms in mice. Precise optical and electrophysiological measurements, optogenetic perturbations and computational analyses uncover fundamental mechanisms of brain function during simple forms of…

As a result of the strong economic growth in many African countries, the continent has a growing demand for young professionals, particularly in mathematics, IT and engineering, in order to ensure rapid and stable economic, social and political development. Yet, only six per cent of post-secondary aged Africans are enrolled…

Graphite as it occurs in pencils is a brittle material that does not exactly spur the imagination, but modified into a two-dimensional web of hexagonal structures, it gains extraordinary superpowers. Graphene, a nanomaterial discovered in 2004, is 200 times stronger than steel, conducts both electricity and heat, and is almost…

Gravity is one of the four fundamental interactions that exist in nature and is essential for understanding the behavior of the Universe. This research introduces the development of our understanding of gravity. Also the graviton is related to the geometry of the universe which therefore obviously controls the geometry of…

PRESENTED BY Aadeel Akhtar NOMINATED BY University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Tags: Prostethetics, Prosthetic Arm, Prosthetic Hand, Redefining Human