Academic Awards

The document explores sustainable urban development, emphasizing integrated strategies to tackle rapid urbanization, environmental challenges, and socio-economic inequalities. It advocates for empowering local governments, leveraging technology, and fostering resilience through inclusive planning, economic diversification, and environmental sustainability. The document, authored by researchers from the World Bank, offers a comprehensive analysis of the challenges and opportunities presented by urban development in resource-constrained environments. It highlights the pressing need for integrated, sustainable, and inclusive approaches to address the rapid urbanization reshaping cities worldwide. Key issues such as environmental degradation, socio-economic inequalities, and overburdened infrastructure systems are brought to the forefront. Through case studies and data-driven insights, the research advocates for innovative strategies that balance urban planning's social, economic, and ...

Introduction In today’s fast-paced digital era, the telecom industry is undergoing a significant evolution. As data demands soar and connectivity becomes crucial for digital and automated services, Telecom Giants Enhance Network Management Using AI to stay competitive and meet customer expectations. But what does this really mean for the industry and its customers? This article delves into how artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing telecom network management, enhancing efficiency, and boosting reliability. Transforming Network Management with AI Telecom companies worldwide are leveraging AI to refine their network infrastructure. By integrating AI, telecom providers can manage their networks more efficiently, minimizing downtime and improving overall service quality. But how are these colossal telecom giants implementing AI in their operations? Predictive Maintenance and Fault Management AI-driven solutions enable telecom operators to anticipate network failures before they oc...

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar famously stated that black holes are “the most perfect macroscopic objects there are in the Universe: The only elements in their construction are our concepts of space and time.” His observation relates to the fact that astrophysical black holes, as described by the Kerr spacetime, can be characterized by just two parameters: mass and spin. However, things might get more complex. Theorists have predicted that if a bosonic field interacts with a Kerr black hole, perturbations in the field can grow to form a cloud around the black hole, creating a “gravitational atom,” in which the bosons surrounding the black hole behave somewhat like the electrons surrounding an atomic nucleus . What’s more, if such a gravitational atom is part of a binary involving a second black hole, excitations and ionization processes akin to those occurring in hydrogen atoms may affect how the black hole binary evolves. Giovanni Tomaselli of the University of Amsterdam and collaborators...

  New research hints at a fascinating and completely unexpected connection between Mars’s gravitational field and Earth’s climate. Geological evidence spanning over 65 million years suggests that deep-sea currents on Earth undergo recurring cycles of strength every 2.4 million years. These cycles, referred to as “astronomical grand cycles,” appear linked to gravitational interactions between Earth and Mars. Mars’s gravitational pull on Earth Mars and Earth tug on each other with their gravity as they move through space, creating small but noticeable effects called gravitational perturbations. Even though the planets are usually tens of millions of miles apart, their gravitational pull is strong enough to cause slight tweaks to each other’s orbits. During opposition, when Mars and Earth come closest – roughly every 26 months – Mars’s gravity nudges Earth’s orbit just a little. These changes are tiny and don’t disrupt Earth’s path in any major way, but over long periods, they can add...

Plasma is all around us, comprising 99% of the visible universe, including the stars at night and the branch of lightning we see cracking open the sky. Researchers are using the power of this superheated matter for everything from making computer chips to healing wounds. And in Belgium, three companies are collaborating on a world-first technology: a plasma reactor that turns captured CO₂ into carbon monoxide (CO) for steel and chemical production. The process holds promise for decarbonizing steelmaking. The role of CO₂ recycling The steel sector creates more CO₂ than any other heavy industry and is considered challenging to electrify. This is because traditional steelmaking in blast furnaces uses coal as both a source of heat and, in the chemical process, as a reductant for converting iron ore to elemental (‘pig’) iron. While the sector looks to future-proof with technologies such as electric arc furnaces and direct reduction of iron ore with hydrogen, it is looking to CO₂ capture, ut...

Scientists in Japan have created hybrid plant-animal cells, essentially making animal cells that can gain energy from sunlight like plants. The breakthrough could have major benefits for growing organs and tissues for transplant, or lab-grown meat. Animal and plant cells have different energy-producing structures inside them. For animals, that’s mitochondria, which convert chemical energy from food into a form that our cells can use. Plants and algae, meanwhile, use chloroplasts, which perform photosynthesis to generate energy from sunlight to power their cells. In a new study led by the University of Tokyo, the team inserted chloroplasts into animal cells, and found that they continued to perform photosynthetic functions for at least two days. The chloroplasts were sourced from red algae, while the animal cells were cultured from hamsters. Previous studies had found success in transplanting chloroplasts into yeast, granting them the new ability of photosynthesis. But that’s a fungus –...