Most current climate models suggest that limiting warming to <2°C will require large scale deployment of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies. CDR may be natural or technological, with one of the most scalable technological approaches being the direct capture of CO2 from the air, or “direct air capture” (DAC) coupled with geologic storage. Because of the ultra-dilute nature of air, the separation of CO2 from this mixture presents a significant engineering challenge. Today, DAC technologies are very expensive ($500-1000/tCO2). In this lecture, I will describe the unique challenges associated with designing molecules, materials, devices and ultimately processes for DAC. Specifically, I will describe the design and synthesis, characterization and application of porous oxide-supported amine materials that we have developed as cornerstones of new technologies for the removal of CO2 from air. These materials are incorporated into customized air/solid contactors designed specifically as key components of DAC technologies. DAC offers an interesting case study for the parallel and integrated design of materials, unit operations, and processes in chemistry and chemical engineering.

Functional MRI has been used for over 35 years to detect neural activity in the cortex by exploiting the blood oxygenation-level dependent (BOLD) effect, and has become an essential tool for mapping brain function. In addition, correlations between BOLD signals from different regions in a resting state are interpreted as depicting functional connectivity and reveal neural circuits. However, BOLD signals have rarely been reported from white matter (WM), which constitutes over half the brain and encompasses the communication networks between cortical areas and between the brain and the spine. Despite this oversight, it is clear BOLD signals are robustly detectable in WM if appropriate analyses are used, WM BOLD responses can be evoked by stimulation in task-specific tracts or regions, and at rest, signals within WM tracts show reproducible patterns of correlations with gray matter (GM). Moreover, these WM-GM relations are altered in various pathologies including Alzheimer’s disease in a manner that correlates with behavioral measures. BOLD signals may also be detected and analyzed in WM tracts in the spinal cord. By integrating multimodal data from various sources the relationships of BOLD signals in WM to glial cell density, vascular properties, tissue microstructure and degree of myelination have been established, which suggest the biophysical basis of BOLD in WM is similar but different from GM in important ways. This presentation will summarize some of our recent studies that provide evidence that BOLD signals in WM are related to brain functional activity and deserve greater attention by the neuroimaging community.

我将介绍近年来我们在应用数学落地方面的一些体会和成果，包括我们与华为合作在5G极化码研究方向的进展，以及我们用AI解偏微分方程的一些研究。我也简单谈谈我对科研新范式和人工智能的理解。

Closed-loop gene circuits are ushering in a new era of cybernetic therapeutics and self-driving medicine, in which treatment is no longer delivered according to fixed schedules but is continuously adapted to the body’s changing physiological state. Rooted in synthetic biology and amplified by the convergence of bioelectronics and adaptive materials, these systems are designed to sense molecular and metabolic cues, diagnose emerging imbalance, compute appropriate responses, and autonomously tune therapeutic output in real time. Unlike conventional open-loop interventions, they establish a therapeutic logic that can diagnose, treat, and ultimately prevent disease progression, with the long-term prospect of durable cure through continuous physiological recalibration. In doing so, this emerging paradigm extends the enduring principle articulated since the Renaissance by Paracelsus, that dose determines both efficacy and toxicity, into a new framework of dynamic therapeutic regulation. Feedback-controlled cell and gene therapies can thus be envisioned as integrated systems that detect deviation, process information, and restore homeostasis around defined physiological setpoints. In this sense, self-driving medicine may represent the most profound medical transformation since the Paracelsian concept of dose, reframing therapy as dynamic, bidirectional control of function rather than episodic correction of dysfunction.

Scientists and philosophers had speculated about the nature of space for at least 2500 years. Modern geometry started with the ideas of Gauss and Riemann. They identified curvature as the fundamental concept for describing geometric spaces. This made fundamental mathematical advances possible and also enabled Einstein's theory of general relativity. Riemannian geometry is also the language of modern quantum field theory. At the same time, geometry has become ever more abstract, for instance proposing abstract versions of curvature, for example useful for data analysis. I will explain the mathematical concepts, like curvature, connections, Laplace type operators and geometrically constructed action functionals.

当今世界进入百年大变局，大国博弈加剧，单边主义与霸权逻辑冲击国际秩序，传统治理体系难以应对气候变化、地缘冲突、产业链安全等共同挑战。中国捍卫世界和平，捍卫自由贸易，推动建设人类命运共同体。高博士结合亲自参与的诸多外事事件，探究历史发展规律。