Arizona State University Foresight Initiative
The National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) has awarded Arizona State University a five-year, $20 million agreement to research the effects of climate change and its propensity to cause civil and political unrest. Effective as of June 1, 2014, the agreement is known as the Foresight Initiative.
The goal of the initiative is to understand how climate-caused disruptions and the depletion of natural resources including water, land and energy will impact political instability. The plan is to create visually appealing computer models and simulations using large quantities of real-time data to guide policymakers in their decisions.
According to Nadya Bliss, principal investigator for the Foresight Initiative and assistant vice president with ASU's Office of Knowledge and Development, ASU is using the latest advances in cloud computing and storage technologies, natural user interfaces and machine learning to create real-time computer models and simulations to understand the impacts of climate change. For example, researchers could collect data on a drought to understand its impact on agriculture, transportation, electricity and economic instability, and then run simulations based on policy decisions to determine the best outcome.
This initiative will play a key role in collaborative research efforts to accelerate the evolution of Activity-Based Intelligence addressing system level activities, dynamics and interdependent network effects in the context of global climate risks to water security. This multi-year research partnership leverages ASU expertise and thought leadership in visual analytics, complex modeling and transdisciplinary decision-making evolving from years of internal and external investments at ASU.
Publication Date: June 1, 2014
Related Organizations:
- Arizona State University
- National Geospatial Intelligence Agency
Resource Category:
Resource Types:
- Modeling tool
- Tool (general)
