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Ben McCluskey
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2019
Four interesting ways to treat industrial wastewater
In the face of large-scale industrial water pollution, technologists are demonstrating the surprising value of wastewater.
5 “green cities” lead the way
Searching for smart and sustainable solutions, they show how to curb energy use, reduce carbon emissions and create more livable spaces.
2018
The battle for batteries
The European Commission wants to build a strong battery industry that can compete with Asia, but has it entered the game too late?
Welcome to Silicon Savannah
Kenya is brimming with innovation, hoping to establish a truly circular economy.
The Herculean tasks of quantum computing
Forget the hype, quantum computing is still in its experimental infancy. Researchers must overcome five big challenges before real-world applications can emerge.
The turbulent world of technological unemployment
Labour-saving advances usually increase both jobs and wages, but the unequal path of change can cause major friction.
Drone Ranger
Michael Linden-Vørnle hopes to turn Denmark into a leader.
Patrolling Europe’s low-altitude airspace
How do you keep the skies from becoming a giant, noisy, dangerous cloud of drones? Manufacturers and regulators are working on the answers.
Managing the new world of transport
Anticipating a decline in car ownership, start-ups like Bestmile and Amber plan to power seamless on-demand services.
Putting people back at the heart of banking
With robo-advisors and improved regulation, machine learning could make financial systems friendlier and more rewarding.
The financial repairman
By providing regulators with better tools, Mathieu Rosenbaum hopes to create healthier markets.
The technology that helps women get pregnant
Swiss start-up Ava’s wristband collects data on fertility. The goal: to help couples have a baby.
An enigmatic cosmic flash
Astronomers add a piece to the puzzle of why radio telescopes keep picking up fast bursts from the universe.
Harnessing optics to handle the data crunch
Photonics may hold the answer to coping with huge volume. But a big challenge remains: converting electronic data into light on silicon chips.
2017
The next frontier: quantum cryptography
As familiar encryption systems reach their limits, the strange world of particle physics offers new solutions.
Search for rigour
While the scientific method strives for objectivity, experimental results are still prone to unconscious bias and error.
Energy efficiency: greening the bottom line
Contrary to popular belief, sustainable solutions can be good for business. A look at some of Europe’s most innovative efforts.
Engineering healthier humans
Drawing on their knowledge of algorithms, design and materials, engineers can help improve healthcare in many arenas.
Medicine: the debate over Big Data
Should doctors have access to huge datasets? The potential to improve healthcare is obvious, but privacy remains equally important.
The electronic biped
Humanoid robots are finally learning to charm us. Can French-founded SoftBank Robotics stay ahead of the competition after a decade at the forefront?
Flying the “big science” flag
Europe is once again on the hunt for emerging research and development trends that will spawn radical social and economic rewards in years to come. Discover three of the candidate projects.
Challenging innovation
A study has questioned the benefits of robotic keyhole surgery for prostate cancer, so why are some experts still championing the technique?
Construction: back to the roots
Wood has seen a slow-paced renaissance since the early 1990s, but ambitious proposals for timber structures now seem to appear.
2016
Rock-solid climate solution
A technique for turning CO2 into stone has been pioneered in Iceland, but another kind of immoveable object could prevent large-scale success.
All Eyes on Ireland
Dublin’s “Silicon Docks” may be known as a welcome destination for U.S. tech giants, but the Emerald Isle has plenty of native innovation to shout about .
Electricity’s bright future
Petrol power helped shape the 20th century, but its decline may define the 21st. So how will the future of urban transport look?
Clearing congestion
It can be difficult to effect behavioural change in large cities, but Stockholm and London have shown that a well-conceived nudge will deliver results.