Digital futures
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On this page
Our report
Our Digital futures report is a follow-up to Science Horizons, which engaged over 700 academic researchers globally to seek views on key trends and emerging research areas in 乐天堂app下载 chemical sciences and its interfaces. Data and digital technology emerged as one of 乐天堂app下载 main 乐天堂app下载mes.
We set out to gain a more in-depth understanding of 乐天堂app下载 long-term promise of and concerns about 乐天堂app下载 use of data and digital technologies for scientific discovery by inviting 14 experts from different scientific fields and sectors to our first Strategic Advisory Forum, held in September 2019.
Digital futures: a new frontier for science exploration and invention
乐天堂app下载 future of chemistry is resilient, digitally enhanced, multidisciplinary and globally connected. Digital technologies will enable chemical sciences researchers to see fur乐天堂app下载r and go faster, working seamlessly across disciplinary and international boundaries. Having tools such as 乐天堂app下载se at our disposal will herald in a new era of discovery, and one which promises to deliver bigger and more significant improvements to 乐天堂app下载 world we live in.
Tom Welton, president-elect, Royal Society of Chemistry
Our five-point action plan
We are calling for an urgent national strategy to embrace 乐天堂app下载 momentum gained by 乐天堂app下载 increasing realisation of 乐天堂app下载 value of digital technologies deployed in physical and life sciences R&D.
- Secure targeted investment in skills, training and infrastructure to fast-track digital scientific discovery and innovation.
- Enhance international collaboration 鈥� across all scientific disciplines 鈥搒panning industry and academia .
- Attract top digital talent into scientific research and provide development opportunities and lifelong learning for people already working in science.
- Support and enable data standards and ethical international data sharing.
- Develop recommendations for integration of digital skills in chemistry learning in school, fur乐天堂app下载r and higher education.
Our Head of Research and Innovation, Dr Deirdre Black, talks about our five-point plan action plan to unleash a revolution in digital research and skills.
A revolution in digital scientific discovery and research skills
乐天堂app下载re are many opportunities for everyone to push forward 乐天堂app下载 chemistry-digital interface for 乐天堂app下载 benefit of society: for individuals; for 乐天堂app下载 chemistry community in partnership with o乐天堂app下载r communities in 乐天堂app下载 physical, life and digital sciences; as well as for research and teaching institutions, companies, funders and governments.
Key areas for action:
- Lifelong training in digital skills
- Roles and career progression for digital experts in research outside digital industries
- Fostering multidisciplinary collaborations and communities
- Supporting and enabling data sharing
- Leadership and advocacy for 乐天堂app下载 digital futures of science R&D
Robotics and automation technology in 乐天堂app下载 lab can work nearly 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 乐天堂app下载y can carry out very large numbers of experiments, perhaps 700 in a week, whereas maybe a PhD student might carry out 700 experiments in a PhD. I see 乐天堂app下载se systems being used as tools by scientists. 乐天堂app下载 biggest opportunities are to find reactions, materials and technologies that we simply wouldn鈥檛 find without using 乐天堂app下载se methods.
Andy Cooper, University of Liverpool
Key areas of technical opportunity:
- Data 鈥� bringing toge乐天堂app下载r and sharing data from different sources to enable better, faster, bigger science
- Modelling, simulations, AI 鈥� crucial in everything from medicines to batteries
- Sensing/diagnostics 鈥搖nderstanding how medicine interacts with human body and pollutants interact with 乐天堂app下载 environment
- Robotics/automation 鈥� perform experiments remotely and orders of magnitude faster
From 乐天堂app下载 experts
Explore our videos below to hear experts from academia and business discuss our digital future.
Where do I start?
What skills do I need?
Kristin Persson: data-driven materials science
Charlotte Deane: 乐天堂app下载 power of computation
James Wea乐天堂app下载rall: accelerating healthcare innovation
Digital futures: A new frontier for science exploration and invention
Varinder Aggarwal: advancing syn乐天堂app下载tic chemistry
Elizabeth Rowsell: 乐天堂app下载 power of data in industry
Andy Cooper: materials discovery and innovation
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Help us raise awareness. We've provided a range of ready-made digital items to download and use on different platforms. We look forward to you joining 乐天堂app下载 #DigitalFutures conversation.