Tā te heamana | Message from Professor Cather Simpson FRSNZ Domain Convenor – Technology, Applied Science and Engineering

In 1975, Columbia University’s Wallace Broecker published a paper in Science titled ‘Climatic Change: Are We on the Brink of a Pronounced Global Warming?’. Quite a lot has changed in the 50 years since the term “global warming” was introduced into mainstream science, including the mobilisation of the international science and engineering communities to better understand and mitigate the effects of human consumption on the climate. What will the next 50 years hold?

That’s the topic of the Generations conference happening in Brisbane in September this year. The hosts, Australian Academy Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE), have created a powerful international programme: “It’s 2076. Sustainable technology and engineering have taken a quantum leap.  What emerging R&D and megatrends have characterised the last 50 years?” 

The Generations conference is part of a series of international conferences of the International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences (CAETS). The last three conferences were held in Versailles (2022), Zagreb (2023) and Helsinki (2024), hosted by the National Academy of Technologies of France, the Croatian Academy of Engineering, and the Finnish Academy of Technical Sciences, respectively. The themes of the last two conferences focused on e-transportation and carbon-neutral technologies and society.

The Royal Society Te Apārangi has been member of CAETS’ Council since 2019, through our Technology, Applied Sciences and Engineering domain. New Zealand has a seat on the CAETS Council and a 2-year position on the CAETS Board, in rotation with the other 31 member academies. We also will rotate into the President role, and host the annual conference, though with 31 member academies that will not happen until well after 2030!

In the meantime, all Society Fellows are encouraged to join Professor Anthony Hōete, our New Zealand representative, at the Generations conference in Brisbane.

Ngā mihi

Cather Simpson