Jones Jacob L, Berube David M, Cuchiara Maude, Grieger Khara, Hubal Elaine A Cohen, Karikó Sarah J, Strader Phillip, Theriault Yves
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27606, USA.
North Carolina Plant Sciences Initiative, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27606, USA.
Environ Syst Decis. 2024 Oct 9;44:1039-1053. doi: 10.1007/s10669-024-09991-w.
One of society's most pressing challenges in the twenty-first century is that of climate change. In fact, climate change is seen as the most defining issue of our time as we are witness to an anthropogenic perturbation in geology and earth sciences of global scale. To move forward in this new era, solutions will be sought to both mitigate the effects of climate change (e.g., reduce greenhouse gasses) as well as adapt and build resilience (e.g., improve infrastructure and agriculture to resist damage from extreme weather or floods). The immediacy of the needed solutions dictates that the response must use the full force of society's current knowledge base, science, technology, and innovation. Nanotechnology, an enabling technology that has matured over the past few decades and now considered for general-purpose and mass use, is ideal for addressing climate change and its impacts. To position nanotechnology to address such complex challenges, this Perspective integrates collective insights from a broad range of viewpoints and presents recommendations for how research can be motivated and scoped, organized, and implemented to achieve beneficial outcomes and innovations in the most efficient ways. While this Perspective was created with a focus on the research landscape within the United States, the findings are also relevant in other international contexts. Research that can effectively advance nanotechnology solutions will be use-inspired basic research, incorporate systems-level thinking, apply a convergence research approach, engage stakeholders, and require advanced nanotechnology infrastructure. By illuminating this compelling and complex research topic, this Perspective aims to direct, inform, and accelerate needed actions in the research community to advance nanotechnology solutions for addressing climate change.
气候变化是21世纪社会面临的最紧迫挑战之一。事实上，气候变化被视为我们这个时代最具决定性的问题，因为我们正目睹一场全球规模的地质和地球科学领域的人为扰动。为了在这个新时代取得进展，人们将寻求各种解决方案，以减轻气候变化的影响（例如减少温室气体排放），同时进行适应并增强复原力（例如改善基础设施和农业，以抵御极端天气或洪水造成的破坏）。所需解决方案的紧迫性决定了应对措施必须充分利用社会现有的知识基础、科学、技术和创新。纳米技术作为一种在过去几十年中已经成熟、如今正被考虑用于通用和大规模应用的使能技术，非常适合应对气候变化及其影响。为了使纳米技术能够应对如此复杂的挑战，本《观点》整合了广泛观点的集体见解，并就如何以最有效的方式激发、界定范围、组织和实施研究以实现有益成果和创新提出了建议。虽然本《观点》的创作重点是美国国内的研究情况，但这些发现也适用于其他国际背景。能够有效推动纳米技术解决方案的研究将是受应用启发的基础研究，纳入系统层面的思维，采用融合研究方法，让利益相关者参与进来，并需要先进的纳米技术基础设施。通过阐明这一引人关注且复杂的研究课题，本《观点》旨在指导、告知并加速研究界采取必要行动，以推进用于应对气候变化的纳米技术解决方案。
