NYUAD Institute

This talk explores the potential consequences of the end of global population growth, examining various scenarios for a world with no growth. With global population growth likely to cease within the next 60 years, some view this shift as a relief from ecological pressures, while others fear it may lead to labor shortages, government fiscal collapse, and aging populations lacking adequate care. Cou...

This talk explores the role of environmental toxins in shaping health and well-being, examining their presence in everyday life and their impact on fertility, birth weight, and children’s academic and developmental outcomes. The discussion highlights the importance of collecting baseline data on environmental toxins in Abu Dhabi to inform policies and interventions that improve health and promote...

Have the great ambitions for the role of international criminal justice in the world been misplaced? Can international courts deliver meaningful justice for the victims of extreme crimes in conflict? This conversation will explore the challenges of seeking accountability for war time atrocities with Erik Møse, one the pioneering figures of international criminal justice. His perspectives will draw...

Ali Khan, author of Cricket in Pakistan: Nation, Identity, and Politics, examines the profound connection between cricket and Pakistan's socio-political landscape. The talk explores how the sport has shaped national identity, influenced political narratives, and served as a cultural touchstone, reflecting the broader dynamics of society and politics in the region. Speaker Ali Khan, Professor of An...

Super-organisms, such as insect societies, solve complex problems collectively without centralized planning, achieving outcomes on scales far larger than the individual. This talk examines how social insects regulate their environments by constructing and deconstructing functional architectures, linking physics and behavior through local sensing and global environmental fields. The speaker will al...

This talk showcases several groundbreaking AI projects that Dr. Ruopeng An's team has developed to address pressing societal challenges. These projects include using AI to combat COVID-19 disinformation on social media, improving precision nutrition with computer vision models, tracking public sentiment on soda taxes and menu labeling laws, and autocorrecting exaggerated health research headlines....

This talk explores themes on creative and technical projects investigating time, memory, and cultural identity, using techniques from engineering, computing, and data science to get perspective on our cultural and civilizational moment. Professor DuBois discusses how these themes are embodied in music, portraiture, performance, software, and electronics, and touches on how equity and access play a...

Join us for a presentation on Lost in the U.A.E., a photographic project by Professor Mark Jenkinson. Professor Jenkinson traveled over 10,000 kilometers across the country, capturing its diverse landscapes, architecture, and culture. His work offers a unique visual narrative of the U.A.E., reflecting both its rapid transformation and enduring heritage. Through this lens, he explores the intersect...

Our memories are not facts found on cards in a neural rolodex. They are recreations of reality. And, almost always, they are incredibly accurate and vivid. Yet our memories are vulnerable. They can be distorted, they can be manipulated, and in several disease states, they can be irrevocably lost. This talk explores how the brain manages the remarkable feat of acquiring information about the world,...

How do immigration policies from economically advantaged countries affect people in less advantaged countries and the immigrants who come in with these policies? "Structured Luck" takes us on a transnational journey to explore the societal, personal, and political implications of the US Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, a US immigration policy that is an annual economic and cultural event in many...

Can we reimagine the complex relationships among nature, culture, and homeland through the lens of a decolonial botany? In this conversation, Robert Zhao Renhui and Tuấn Mami explore plants as contemporary symbols of resilience and adaptation that can shape our understanding of multispecies ecosystems and migrating communities and enrich our collective existence. In a world grappling with the clim...

By introducing artists to science and research institutions, sci-art collaborations are establishing new perspectives and interdisciplinary approaches, and artistic work is contributing to scientific inquiry. In this talk, musician and sound artist Sam Nester introduces his work and how it has led to collaborative projects with institutions in the USA, Europe, and the UAE. From working alongside s...

Everyone eats. This simple fact makes food a fascinating topic of human creativity and scientific inquiry throughout the world. Culinary innovations are a source of new sensations and pleasures. Increasingly, however, necessity is driving new revolutions in food systems globally. Ideally, emerging technologies will feed a crowded world while utilizing more sustainable practices. Astonishing discov...

This talk will showcase how innovative solutions recognized by the Prize are successfully bridging economic growth, social equity, and environmental sustainability. The speakers will explore how AI and cutting-edge technology in environmental sustainability and water security empower vulnerable communities to build resilience and self-sufficiency. Highlighting the work of Prize finalists, the disc...

In this talk, Riken Yamamoto, 2024 Pritzker Architecture Prize laureate, will explore the transformative power of architecture in shaping communities. He will discuss key themes such as sustainability, intergenerational living, human-centered design, and the integration of public and private spaces. Drawing from his diverse portfolio, Yamamoto will examine how architecture can address societal cha...

This talk explores the intersection of science and art, transcending cultural barriers to bring people closer to the marvels of space. Dr. Leonardo Barilaro, a pianist and aerospace engineer known as 'The Space Pianist,' will showcase his compositions sent to the International Space Station (ISS) and streamed back to Earth. He will discuss the scientific projects connected to this endeavor, includ...

There is a strong tradition in Islamic culture to intertwine art and mathematics. This talk is about how this tradition has influenced the speaker's work on how physics reveals the structure of the universe, mathematics is the language for this and opens a way for art to help understand things in string theory, which connects quantum mechanics with general relativity via progress toward a theory o...

The specter of widespread drug-resistant bacterial infections is a looming public health crisis and especially pronounced for so-called “Gram-negative” pathogens. In addition, all approved antibiotics also kill the “good” bacteria in our gut, resulting in many deleterious effects on human health. This lecture will describe this problem and what is being done to solve it. Recent advances in fundame...

This talk explores the impact of immigration policies from economically advantaged countries on both the people in less advantaged nations, particularly in the Global South, and the immigrants who enter under these policies. The speaker will take us on a transnational journey, delving into the societal, personal, and political implications of the U.S. Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. Highlighting...

This talk examines the role of science in the Islamic world, tracing how modern science has roots in Islamic civilization. It explores whether we have lost key aspects of the scientific process that was established during this era. Beginning in the 8th century, Islamic scholars contributed through a unique triangle of innovation, using deep imagination to solve pressing social challenges. Today, t...

Dean Salomon will introduce the principal risks that multinational corporations (MNCs) face in the global marketplace. He will discuss the critical institutional investment challenges that underpin globalization and the tools that multinational investors can use to better navigate globalization's risks. Speaker Robert Salomon, Dean of Stern, NYUAD In collaboration with Stern at NYUAD

Imagine a future where tiny devices inside your body can detect diseases and send the information directly to your doctor. This is the vision behind the Internet of Bio-NanoThings (IoBNT), which connects biological cells to the internet. In this talk, we introduce PANACEA, a groundbreaking system designed to diagnose and treat infectious diseases using submillimeter bio-nanodevices. These devices,...

This talk explores the enduring relevance of medieval Arab philosopher Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406), often regarded as the father of sociology and historiography. His magnum opus, the Muqaddimah (1377), written nearly 650 years ago, has significantly influenced both Islamic and Western traditions. Ibn Khaldun’s ideas on social solidarity (assabiyah) and the interconnected dynamics of power, economic de...

This talk features a conversation with Ibrahim al-Koni, a prominent contemporary author in Arabic literature. Raised as a Tuareg in the Libyan desert, al-Koni's storytelling is informed by his educational background and extensive travels. His extensive body of work, encompassing over a hundred books, examines the history of the Mediterranean region and the desert. The discussion will focus on al-K...

As the U.S. elections draw near, this panel will examine how leadership changes could influence global power structures, with a particular focus on the Middle East. The discussion will explore what impacts leadership changes might have on the broader geopolitical landscape and consider possible ripple effects in critical regions of the world as the US recalibrates its global strategies. Speakers D...