In Japan, phrases like "sustainable society" and "sustainable development goals (SDGs)" have become buzzwords in recent years. With the numerous challenges facing modern-day societies, which include environmental issues such as air pollution, climate change, and marine plastic pollution, what approaches can be taken to achieve a truly sustainable society?

To explore this question, we spoke with Lecturer Tomoaki Nakaishi from the Faculty of Economics, who is conducting research that merges the fields of economics and data science to achieve what he calls “sustainable consumption and production.”

International engagement by scientists in the Global South, or those in relatively "obscure" or new fields, shows that research advances are increasingly tied to mutltidisciplinary, multinational collaboration.

Climate change disrupts the water cycle on Earth, causing potentially life-threatening flooding and drought. Researchers are developing solutions for predicting extreme situations and managing water.

The Tennessee General Assembly has set aside $165.5 million in its fiscal year 2025-26 budget for a new chemistry building at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, with a groundbreaking scheduled for September and projected completion in 2029.

UC San Diego engineers have uncovered a new, non-invasive way to deliver pneumonia-treating microrobots to the lungs—using breathable algae. This sort of breakthrough, which could one day be a game-changing medical treatment, is made possible by federal funding.

Microbiologist and entrepreneur Jesse Labbé excels at cultivating discovery and innovation. As the new director of the Biosciences Division at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, he’s leading a team focused on science and technologies to boost U.S. competitiveness, strengthen national and energy security and advance human health.

Fire scientists and practitioners are working together to coproduce new tools for managing wildfires and making prescribed fires safer and easier to implement. Prescribed fires can reduce hazardous fuels, and many ecosystems are fire-adapted which means they require regular fire to stay healthy. 

Wearable tech can play a significant role in addressing women's health, particularly when it comes to understanding the physiological effects of their menstrual cycles. Assistant Professor Dhruv Seshadri and his team in Lehigh University's Department of Bioengineering have partnered with Ultrahuman, an India-based company that calls itself "the world's most comprehensive self-quantification platform," on two projects designed to address areas of unmet need relating to women's health.