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UID:80@oxon.bcs.org
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20230920T193000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20230920T210000
DTSTAMP:20240127T154747Z
URL:https://oxon.bcs.org/programme/a-tale-of-two-cities-reflections-on-dig
 ital-technology-and-the-natural-environment/
SUMMARY:A Tale of Two Cities: Reflections on Digital Technology and the Nat
 ural Environment
DESCRIPTION:\nProf. Gordon S. Blair\, Head of Environmental Digital Strateg
 y\, UKCEH\nContemporary digital technologies can make a profound impact on
  our understanding of the natural environment in moving toward sustainable
  futures. Examples of such technologies included sources of new data (e.g.
 \, an environmental Internet of Things)\, the ability to storage and proce
 ss the large datasets that will result from this (e.g.\, through cloud com
 puting)\, and the potential of data science and AI to make sense of these 
 data alongside human experts. However\, these same trends pose a threat to
  sustainable futures through\, for example\, the carbon footprint of digit
 al technology and the risks of this escalating through the very trends men
 tioned above. This talk will explore this ‘tale of two cities’\, refle
 cting on my experiences of my work at UKCEH where I explore the role of di
 gital innovation in supporting contemporary environmental science\, whilst
  also being aware of the potential negative impact of such technologies on
  the very environment we are seeking to understand and steer towards more 
 sustainable futures. The talk will conclude with thoughts on how these two
  perspectives can be reconciled.\nAbout Prof. Gordon Blair\nProf. Gordon B
 lair is Head of Environmental Digital Strategy at UKCEH. He is also a Dist
 inguished Professor of Distributed Systems at Lancaster University where h
 e holds a part-time post (20%). He is also Co-Director of the Centre of Ex
 cellence in Environmental Data Science (CEEDS)\, a joint initiative betwee
 n UKCEH and Lancaster University. His current research interests focus on 
 the role of digital technology in supporting environmental science. This i
 ncludes new forms of environmental monitoring and data acquisition\, inclu
 ding the role of Internet of Things technology\, new forms of computationa
 l infrastructure to support the storage and processing of such data\, spec
 ifically using cloud computing\, and new forms of analysing and making sen
 se of this data using data science and AI. He is particularly interested i
 n the role of virtual labs in supporting this end-to-end pipeline and in e
 nabling a new kind of science that is more open\, collaborative and integr
 ative. Most recently\, through CEEDS\, he has become interested in the rol
 e of digital twins in supporting environmental science. This all builds on
  a strong legacy of research in distributed systems\, having been involved
  since the inception of the field in the early 1980s. His core research in
  this area focused on the middleware architectures that underpin complex d
 istributed systems applications and services\, including examination of ke
 y distributed properties such as interoperability and how these can be ach
 ieved in the complex and dynamic distributed systems of today.\n\nHybrid M
 eeting\n\nThis event will be held both “in person” and “via Zoom
 ”.\n\n“In Person” Logistics\n\nThe “in person” meeting will be h
 eld at our new meeting place: Rewley House\, 1 Wellington Square\, Oxford 
 OX1 2JA. The meeting will commence at 7:30pm\, and an assortment of light 
 refreshments will be available beforehand. Please register for the event a
 s usual using the Eventbrite link on the website or via MeetUp\, where you
  will be able to indicate whether you are attending via Zoom or in person.
 \n\nCOVID-19\n\nBCS is following government guidelines and we would ask at
 tendees to continue to also follow these guidelines. Please go to https://
 www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/ for more information\, advice\
 , and instructions.
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CATEGORIES:Hybrid Event
LOCATION:Rewley House\, 1 Wellington Square\, Oxford\, Oxfordshire\, OX1 2J
 A\, United Kingdom
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