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Internasjonalisering

Over hele Europa er det tydelig at dagens jordbrukspraksis ikke lenger er bærekraftig, og at jordbrukssystemene må endres for å opprettholde matproduksjonen og samtidig ivareta det biologiske mangfoldet, økosystemene og de mange fordelene de gir samfunnet.

En løsning på dette er agroøkologi. Agroøkologisk jordbruk har til felles å utnytte naturlige økologiske prosesser for å gjøre jordbruk mer bærekraftig. Dessverre, til tross for mye forskning på agroøkologisk jordbrukspraksis, er bruken av dette svært begrenset i Europa.

I SAFER-prosjektet vil et stort team av europeiske forskere jobbe på tvers av et nettverk med seks 'levende laboratorier', det vil si at gårder i drift på tvers av Europa vil iverksette agroøkologisk praksis. Ved samarbeid på de involverte gårdene, vil bønder, forskere og andre interessenter sammen bidra til økt kunnskap om agroøkologi. Det vil gi mer kunnskap om de landbruksmessige, miljømessige og sosialøkologiske fordelene, samt de mulige avveiningene mellom ulike fordeler.  

Teamet fra Universitetet i Bergen, ledet av prof. Peter Manning, vil være en viktig bidragsyter i prosjektet. De skal oppskalere data fra prosjektet på felt- og gårdsnivå til hele landskap, og simulere endringer i gårdspraksis ved å bruke en kombinasjon av samfunnsvitenskap, fjernmåling og matematisk modellering. Dette vil gi prognoser for hvordan konsekvenser av landsbruksstrategier på landskapsnivå påvirker hele systemet, fra bønder til lokale interessenter. 

Sluttproduktet vil være detaljert kunnskap om hvordan ulike økologiske praksiser påvirker bønder, bygdesamfunn og om hvilke strategier som øker bærekraftig produksjon og flerfunksjonalitet i europeiske jordbrukslandskap. Ved aktiv involvering av bønder og andre interessenter gjennom hele forskningsprosessen, tar vi også sikte på å øke relevansen og bruken av de identifiserte løsningene.

Agroecology offers an opportunity to reconcile agricultural production with human well-being across Europe. However, despite significant evidence that agroecological farming reduces the environmental footprint of agriculture, agroecology is struggling to expand across Europe. This limited adoption emerges from a limited understanding of the cross-disciplinary impacts (agronomic, ecological, economic and social dimensions) of upscaling agroecological farming and recent social unrest following the deployment of agroecological policies indicates that there is an urgent need to address this issue. In addition, a major challenge for agroecology is that no single agroecological practice is suitable for all contexts. Instead, practices need to be targeted and adapted to local socio-ecological contexts, with a strong involvement of stakeholders. Addressing such challenge implies a paradigm shift towards co-design in research and innovation in agroecology.

SAFER will address these challenges by mobilizing a European network of 6 Living Labs distributed across contrasting regions and social-ecological systems, in a multidisciplinary approach. We will: (i) co-design best suited agroecological practices adapted to local social-ecological conditions via a participatory approach that actively involves stakeholders; (ii) quantify the multiple agronomical, environmental and socio-economic benefits and risks of scaling up these agroecological practices from the field to the landscape scale using a similar landscape-scale design across Living Labs; (iii) forecast the whole-system consequences of landscape-scale strategies for farmers and local stakeholders; (iv) identify how local policies, stakeholder demands and the Living Lab methodology can enhance or limit the expansion of agroecological practices

Work at UiB will concentrate on modelling work in (ii) and (iii) but will contribute to all aspects.

AGROECOL 1 SAFER Strengthening Agricultural landscape multiFunctionality through expansion of agroecological farming in EuRope (SAFER)

CAPIDEMIC utforsker de politiske dimensjonene ved transnasjonale forsyningskjeder og hvordan disse svarer på bærekraftutfordringene som oppstår ved nye smittsomme sykdommer (EID). Forskningen vår retter søkelys mot fjørfeindustrien, som nå er truet av den globale spredningen av høypatogen fugleinfluensa (HPAI) – en krise med betydelige økonomiske og politiske implikasjoner. Vi undersøker hvordan ulike interessenter, inkludert regjeringer, internasjonale organisasjoner, selskaper og bønder navigerer i den sammensatte EID-håndteringen i fjørfeindustrien. Empirien i forskningen vår hentes fra India, som har en av verdens raskest voksende fjørfeindustrier. Landet står nå samtidig overfor en alvorlig trussel fra den globale spredningen av HPAI. Ved å bruke kvalitative metoder og omfattende feltarbeid fra industrikontorer til produksjonsanlegg i India, vil vi systematisk analysere de politiske, økonomiske og sosiale sidene av de globalt integrerte jordbrukssystemene. Vårt tverrfaglige team ledes av en dyktig forsker med ekspertise innen agrarstudier og økonomisk geografi og inkluderer videre etablerte og unge forskere med sterk interesse for de politiske sidene ved jordbruksendring og global helse. Funnene våre vil kunne bidra betydelig til akademiske debatter om den politiske rollen naturressursnæringer har i møtet med bærekraftkriser i det 21. århundre.

CAPIDEMIC is an innovative interdisciplinary project aimed at advancing research in the fields of agrarian studies, political economy, and economic geography, focusing on the political dimensions of transnational supply chains and their response to the sustainability challenges posed by emerging infectious diseases (EIDs). Our research centers on the poultry industry, currently under threat from the global spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza, a sustainability crisis with significant economic and political implications, given its potential for pandemic spread. The project aims to understand the complex interplay between political structures, governance mechanisms, and economic interests in shaping responses to EIDs within the poultry supply chain. We aim to introduce a fresh perspective on "supply chain capitalism" by moving beyond abstract conceptualizations, delving into political-economic dynamics of how different actors, including governments, firms, and farmers, navigate the complex terrain of EID management. The research primarily focuses on India's poultry industry, which is experiencing rapid growth but has been overlooked in discussions on supply chain capitalism and EIDs. Responses of biotech firms supplying genetic material to India's poultry industry will also be analyzed to highlight the political and economic implications of their strategies. Through qualitative methods and extensive fieldwork, CAPIDEMIC will analyze the political, economic, and social dimensions of transnationally integrated agricultural production systems. Led by a skilled researcher with expertise in agrarian studies and economic geography, our interdisciplinary team includes experienced scholars and early-career researchers with an interest in political dimensions of agrarian change and global health governance. Our findings will contribute significantly to academic debates on the politics of natural resource industries and sustainability crises in the 21st century.

A New Approach to Supply Chain Capitalism and Emerging Infectious Diseases

Hvilke prinsipper bør ligge til grunn for fordeling av humanitær bistand? Gapet mellom de humanitære behovene og finansieringen tilgjengelig for å dekke disse behovene vokser. I henhold til de humanitære prinsippene skal utvelgelsen av mottakere baseres på behov alene, men dette gir ikke gir tilstrekkelig veiledning når humanitære organisasjoner må velge hvem de skal prioritere å hjelpe. Dette prosjektet gjennomfører en etisk undersøkelse av hvilke prinsipper vi bør bruke for å fordele humanitær midler i lys av denne ressursknappheten.

Prosjektet er organisert rundt tre hovedtemaer. 

For det første: Hvordan bør humanitære organisasjoner prioritere mellom grupper med like store behov når én gruppe er dyrere å hjelpe enn den andre? Hvilken rolle bør kostnadseffektivitet spille i dette valget, og bør det avveies mot andre prinsipper, som for eksempel fordelingsrettferdighet? 

For det andre: Hvordan bør humanitære organisasjoner reagere på krigførende parters forsøk på stoppe eller vri fordelingen av humanitær bistand for eksempel gjennom blokade eller beskatning? Bør humanitære organisasjoner prioritere innsatser til slike områder over innsatser som kunne hjulpet flere mennesker andre steder?

For det tredje: Humanitær bistand kan ha både negative og positive indirekte konsekvenser, for eksempel på miljøet eller på den politiske spenningen i en konflikt. I hvilken grad bør slike konsekvenser vektlegges når humanitær bistand fordeles? 

Prosjektet vil utforske disse spørsmålene og utvikle empirisk informerte etiske argumenter for hvordan de bør håndteres. Partnerinstitusjonen for prosjektet er Department of Philosophy ved American University of Beirut. Forskingsspørsmålene er av generell relevans for fordelingen av humanitær bistand, men prosjektet vil ha et spesielt fokus på Syria og Libanon. Resultater fra prosjektet vil bli publisert i akademiske tidsskrifter og formidlet gjennom seminarer og konferanser med både akademikere og humanitære hjelpearbeidere.

The vast majority of people in need of humanitarian aid reside in regions affected by violence and conflict. At the same time, there is not sufficient funding to address everyone in need. This gives rise to the morally difficult and pressing question: By which criteria should aid be distributed in these regions? 

According to the humanitarian principles, the selection of beneficiaries must be carried out on the basis of need alone, giving priority to the most urgent cases of distress. This project demonstrates that this principle is not without problems. Firstly, the principle does not provide guidance as to how aid should be distributed among potential recipients whose needs are universally high and who cannot all be helped. Secondly, the principle does not specify what role considerations of cost-effectiveness should play in the distribution of limited resources. Thirdly, the principle does not take indirect effects of humanitarian aid on conflict into account. 

These difficult and important problems with the needs-based principle for selecting recipients for humanitarian aid have received insufficient scholarly attention. The project will systematically explore these questions and develop empirically informed ethical arguments for how they should be solved. The project’s outcome will both advance scholarly research and inform humanitarian practice.

While the questions addressed in the project are of general relevance to the distribution of humanitarian aid in fragile states, the project will have a particular focus on Syria and Lebanon. Findings from the project will be published in academic journals, and disseminated in policy briefs, seminars and through various outreach activities including training sessions for practitioners working in the humanitarian sector.

Humanitarian priorities in countries affected by conflict

Økonomisk politikk i vestlige land inkluderer i økende grad tiltak for å redusere avhengighet av Kina og mer generelt et fokus på å styrke såkalt "økonomisk sikkerhet".  Denne endringen drives av bekymringer for at økonomisk gjensidig avhengighet kan brukes som maktmiddel. Som et resultat implementerer vestlige regjeringer politikk som eksportkontroller og investeringsscreening, eksemplifisert ved USAs Inflation Reduction Act og EUs europeiske økonomiske sikkerhetsstrategi. Slike tiltak for såkalt "de-risking" plasserer i stor grad ansvaret for risikovurdering på private selskaper, som må navigere motstridende press fra statlige reguleringer og aksjonærs forventninger. Vi vet lite om hvordan selskaper forholder seg til og vurderer statlige signaler om behovet for "de-risking" og hva som påvirker deres strategier og atferd. DERISK vil tilby en systematisk analyse av hvordan selskaper i USA og Europa navigerer innenfor et nytt regulatorisk rammeverk fokusert på "de-risking." Analysen vil fokusere på hvordan selskaper vurderer denne type risiko, hvordan de håndterer og søker å påvirke statlig politikk, samt hvordan forholdet mellom stat og marked former selskapers atferd.

The global economic landscape is undergoing a paradigm shift, with Western ideas transitioning from a belief in the virtues of economic integration to concerns over economic interdependence as a tool for power and coercion. This shift marks a move away from the neoliberal global order towards a new era of "unpeace," where economic dependencies are seen as vulnerabilities. Western governments are responding by implementing measures like export controls, investment screenings, and national industrial policies, as evident in the US Inflation Reduction Act and the EU's European Economic Security Strategy. This change has led to the rise of the "Economic Security State," characterized by a political impetus to de-risk imposed by states, but where the actual burden of de-risking primarily falls on private firms, impacting their supply chains and market strategies. DERISK studies how firms respond to these governmental directives and their influence on state-market relations. The project will analyze variations in de-risking regimes and corporate responses, examining the interplay between government policies and corporate strategies. It will do so both through a broad  mapping (WP1), as well as in-depth case studies in communications, energy, and insurance (WP 2 & 3). WP 1 of DERISK involves systematic mapping of de-risking regimes in the US and Europe, focusing on variations in government and corporate articulations of de-risking. WP 2 analyzes corporate responses to these regimes, using interest alignment as a key determinant of their strategies, ranging from compliance to resistance. WP 3 explores how firms shape these regimes, and how different forms of state-market relations result in different mechanisms for influence. The project uses mixed-methods, including content analysis and interviews, to understand the dynamics of de-risking in state-market relations.

DERISK: How firms navigate de-risking regimes

GDPR har blitt karakterisert som "den strengeste personvern- og sikkerhetsloven i verden". Praksis viser imidlertid at det er utfordrende å håndheve GDPR. Kravet om livslang håndhevelse av personopplysninger er spesielt sterkt: GDPR bør "reise med dataene", og følgelig følge dataene mens de overføres og behandles. En teknologisk løsning som virker essensiell for å tilfredsstille denne etterspørselen er datasporbarhet. Dette prosjektet fokuserer på tre GDPR-krav --- rett til sletting, formålsbegrensning og rettigheter i forhold til automatisert beslutningstaking og profilering --- og spør om datasporbarhet kan muliggjøre livslang håndhevelse av disse kravene (R1-3) innenfor en felles databehandlingspipeline, under hvilke forutsetninger (inkludert trusselmodellkarakterisering) og kostnad (tid, rom, infrastruktur). For å oppnå dette oppretter vi en tverrfaglig gruppe av CS- og juseksperter for å designe og implementere TracE2E, en tilpassbar mellomvare for ende-til-ende-sporing av data innenfor IoT-applikasjoner. De juridiske medlemmene av gruppen vår vil utføre en juridisk vurdering av det resulterende systemet for å juridisk argumentere for at det håndhever R1-3 under spesifikke forutsetninger. For også å vurdere gjennomførbarheten av håndhevelsen i praksis, vil TracE2E bli portert inn i en eksisterende IoT-applikasjon for å bekjempe fiskerikriminalitet, og kostnadene (tid, plass, programvare og maskinvarebehov) vil bli estimert.

GDPR has been characterized as “the toughest privacy and security law in the world”. However, practice shows that enforcing GDPR is challenging. The demand for its lifelong enforcement on personal data is particularly strong: GDPR should “travel with the data”, and thus, follow the data as it is being transferred and processed. A technological solution that seems essential to satisfy this demand is data traceability. This project focuses on three GDPR requirements---right to erasure, purpose limitation, and rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling---and asks whether data traceability can enable the lifelong enforcement of these requirements (R1-3) within a common data-processing pipeline, under what assumptions (including threat model characterization) and cost (time, space, infrastructure). To achieve this, we create an interdisciplinary group of CS and Law experts to design and implement TracE2E, a customizable middleware for end-to-end traceability of data within IoT applications. The legal members of our group will perform a legal assessment of the resulting system to legally argue that it enforces R1-3 under specific assumptions. To also assess the feasibility of the enforcement in practice, TracE2E will be ported into an existing IoT application for combating fishery crimes, and the incurred cost (time, space, software and hardware needs) will be estimated.

On the Technological (Im)Possibility to Enforce Data Protection Laws

Moderne matproduksjon, distribusjon og forbruk har uheldige virkninger på jord, miljø og menneskers helse.  Mange av disse skyldes manglende hensyn til økologiske prinsipper slik som mangfold og sirkulasjon av organisk materiale og næringsstoffer. Utilstrekkelig kunnskap hos forbrukere om miljøvennlig og sunn mat bidrar også. Likevel er aktørers begrensete evne til å samhandle målrettet for å håndtere kompleksitet og delvis motstridende hensyn trolig viktigst. 

Prosjektet tar opp denne utfordringen ved å legge agroøkologiske prinsipper, en helhetlig matsystemtilnærming og handlingsrettete prosesser til grunn for endring av jordbrukslandskap. Hovedvirkemiddelet er anskaffelser i utvalgte offentlige kantiner av regional, sesongbasert mat produsert etter agroøkologiske prinsipper. 

Dette skjer i «levende laboratorier» (LL-er) der aktører med ulike perspektiver og roller samarbeider om å forstå utfordringer, utforske helhetlige, mer bærekraftige løsninger og gjennomføre endringer. Deltakerne omfatter bønder, rådgivere, matdistributører, kantinepersonell, -brukere og -eiere, innbyggere, kommuner og fylker, inkludert beslutningstakere. Prosjektet inngår i en europeisk satsing (https://www.agroecologypartnership.eu) og omfatter LL-er i sørvest (PT, ES) og nord (SE, DK, NO).

Samtidig forskes det på hvilke løsninger og endringsprosesser som er bærekraftige under ulike forhold og på drivere og hindringer for ønsket utvikling. Man utvikler også et rammeverk som deltakere i en slik prosess kan bruke for å karakterisere en agroøkologisk omlegging av matsystemer og evaluere virkningen på økologisk, økonomisk og sosial bærekraft.

De samordnete utviklings- og forskningsprosessene bidrar dermed både til ønsket endring og til samfunnslæring om veier til bedret bærekraft i matsystemer. Prosjektet bidrar også til et internasjonalt læringsnettverk om håndtering av bærekraftsutfordringer på tvers av ulike miljø- og sosio-økonomiske forhold og prioriteringer blant dem som deltar.

Partnerskapet retter seg mot et presserende behov for å legge agroøkologiske prinsipper og en matsystemtilnærming til grunn for virksomheter i jordbrukslandskap. Hovedvirkemiddelet for å starte en endring mot dette målet, vil være å innføre målrettede anskaffelser i utvalgte offentlige kantiner av regional, sesongbasert mat produsert etter agroøkologiske prinsipper. Partnerskapet svarer også på et behov for forskning på hvilke løsninger og endringsprosesser som er bærekraftige i økologiske, økonomiske og sosiale perspektiver under ulike forhold. 

Tilnærmingen er tverrfaglig, deltakende og endringsorientert ved at det metodologiske fundamentet er aksjonsforskning i levende laboratorier («Living Labs», LL-er). Dette betyr å bringe sammen en rekke aktører med ulike perspektiver for å samarbeide om å håndtere utfordringer, utforske løsninger og gjennomføre endringer i landskapet. I LL-ene vil det gjennomføres gjentatte sykluser av handlingsforskning. Hver av disse av en stegvis samarbeidsprosess der man (1) kartlegger den nåværende situasjon, (2) tegner et mest mulig omforent bilde av ønsket fremtid, (3) lager en handlingsplan og (4) gjennomfører denne. Parallelt med dette vil prosjektets forskere ved hjelp av kvalitative og kvantitative metoder undersøke forutsetninger for vellykkede LL-prosesser og resultater av disse i form av en agroøkologisk, bærekraftig transformasjon av gårdsbruk, matsystem og landskap.

Prosjektet omfatter LL-er i sørvest (PT, ES) og nord (SE, DK, NO) i Europa, på steder der konsortiepartnerne er aktive i initiativer med flere samarbeidende aktørgrupper. Disse omfatter bønder, landbruksrådgivere, matdistributører, kantinepersonell og -brukere, innbyggere, kommuner og fylker, inkludert beslutningstakere.

Partnerskapet vil gjennom de strukturerte og samordnete utviklings- og forskningsprosessene bidra både til en agroøkologisk endring av vedkommende landskap og ny kunnskap og samfunnslæring om gangbare veier til bedret bærekraft generelt.

AGROECOL 1 LIFT Levende laboratorier for agroøkologisk endring av gårdsbruk, matsystemer og landskap

Hvordan kan organisasjoner utnytte kunstig intelligens (KI) for å samarbeide effektivt på en personvernvennlig måte? Tradisjonelle KI-systemer krever ofte sammenstilling av treningsdata, noe som reiser betydelige personvernbekymringer. Dette prosjektet har som mål å møte denne utfordringen ved å utvikle personvernvennlige og effektive distribuerte læreprosesser.

Distribuert læring gjør det mulig for organisasjoner å samarbeide om å trene KI-modeller uten å dele data direkte. Målet er å lage systemer som sikrer sterkt personvern, samtidig som det forbedrer effektivitet og sikkerhet. Denne tilnærmingen har anvendelser på tvers av ulike sektorer. For eksempel kan sykehus samarbeide om å forbedre diagnoser uten å lekke private pasientdata, og forsikringsselskaper kan samarbeide om svindelforebygging uten å kompromittere konkurransefortrinn.

Ved å utnytte kunnskap innen informasjons- og kodingsteori vil dette prosjektet utvikle nye metoder for å sikre at disse systemene er robuste nok for bruk i den virkelige verden. Tilbakemeldinger fra forsikringsselskaper i Norge og Tyskland viser at konkurransehensyn har hindret bruken av samarbeidsteknologier som distribuert læring. Samarbeid er imidlertid viktig for å samle nok data til å trene effektive modeller for oppgaver som svindeldeteksjon.

For å løse dette introduserer prosjektet et nytt konsept kalt "konkurransesikkerhet." Dette innebærer å utvikle et matematisk rammeverk for å måle risikoen for lekkasje av konkurransesensitiv informasjon. Et annet mål er å forbedre effektiviteten til distribuerte læreprosesser gjennom å optimalisere kommunikasjon mellom datamaskiner og å redusere forsinkelser forårsaket av trege eller ikke-responsive nettverksnoder.

Oppsummert har dette prosjektet som mål å bane vei for trygt og effektivt KI-samarbeid, sikre personvern og fremme innovasjon på tvers av ulike bransjer.

The increasingly widespread use of artificial intelligence (AI) in society raises questions of AI safety and the right to privacy, which are of vital importance in the modern age of information. The PeerL project addresses fundamental research questions related to ensuring both fairness and privacy, as well as efficiency in distributed machine learning (ML). As such, PeerL's research will contribute to addressing challenges within 'digital security and sovereignty' and 'AI/ML' , which are key aspects of the call, and contribute to increased sustainability through more efficient data processing and communications. By processing data locally, such methods enable more efficient use of resources and also minimize data transmission and associated energy use.

Our main focus is to develop novel private and efficient distributed learning solutions. We will explore the interplay between differential privacy, robustness, and fairness as well as learning with adversarial clients. In order to construct efficient learning schemes, the project will explore designing solutions based on coding theory, investigate so-called over-the-air solutions, and take a deep dive into the interplay between between privacy and latency. An important use case of special interest in the project is within insurance where companies can collaborate to train improved crime prevention systems while maintaining the confidentiality of sensitive information. Of special interest for this use case is a measure of security against leakage of competitive insights, referred to as competitive privacy, a novel concept introduced in this project to quantify the leakage of competitive insights by the sharing of data. The fear of leaking competitive insights is currently considered the main blocker to the wide-spread practical deployment of collaborative learning methods in insurance companies, as well as in the financial sector more broadly, and results from this project will help removing this barrier.

Private and Efficient Distributed Learning

Rettigheter knyttet til likestilling og ikke-diskriminering er i økende grad under angrep, med betydelig tilbakeslag mot kvinners rettigheter, seksuelle og reproduktive helserettigheter og LHBTIQ+ rettigheter, både globalt og lokalt. Debattene har blitt sterkt polariserte, ofte påvirket av religiøse aktører og diskurser. På den ene siden hevder konservative religiøse stater, institusjoner og sivilsamfunnsorganisasjoner at «tradisjonelle» eller «familie»-verdier må beskyttes mot det de oppfatter som «kjønnsideologi» eller «ideologisk kolonialisme». På den andre siden argumenterer sekulære regjeringer og menneskerettighetsgrupper for at likestillingsrettigheter må forsvares mot patriarkalske og kjønnsdiskriminerende religiøse normer og tradisjoner.

Samtidig utfordrer nye aktører og perspektiver dette binære synet på religion og likestilling. Over hele verden engasjerer religiøse frivillige organisasjoner for kvinners rettigheter, skeive aktivister, feministiske teologer og andre kamper for likestilling og ikke-diskriminering, finner argumenter og inspirasjon i sin religiøse tro. Gjennom casestudier i Colombia, Indonesia, Kenya, Pakistan og i FN vil prosjektet utforske hvordan disse aktørene bruker religion som en ressurs i sitt arbeid og undersøke om deres strategier og nettverk kan bidra til å redusere polarisering rundt disse problemene.
Med dette prosjektet søker vi å utdype forståelsen av skjæringspunktet mellom religion og kjønn og fremheve en gruppe religiøse aktører som ofte blir oversett i studier om kjønn, religion og utvikling. Gjennom å fokusere på kjønnsbasert ulikhet skal prosjektet bidra til å nå bærekraftsmål 5 (likestilling) og 16 (fred, rettferdighet og sterke institusjoner).

Prosjektet gjennomføres av Fredsforskningsinstituttet Oslo (PRIO) i samarbeid med Dansk Institutt for Menneskerettigheter i Danmark, Social Trust Fund/UIN Jakarta i Indonesia, St Paul's University i Kenya, Sentiido Foundation i Colombia, og Universitetet i Groningen i Nederland.

Rights related to gender equality and non-discrimination are increasingly contested. In recent years we have
witnessed strong pushback, both globally and locally, especially against sexual and reproductive health rights and
rights of LGBTIQ+ persons, and debates on these issues are heavily polarized. Religious values and discourses play a
central role in this, with governments, religious institutions, and civil society organisations claiming the need to
protect "traditional" or "family" values against what they see as "a sort of ideological colonialism", often referred to as
"gender ideology". Secular governments, human rights NGOs, and international organisations, on the other side, tend
to see gender-related rights as in need of protection from (conservative, patriarchal) religion. Between these two
positions, a third one is emerging, implicitly or explicitly challenging this dichotomous conception of religion and
gender equality. Around the world, religious feminists and other religious actors, women's rights NGOs and LGBTIQ+
activists, are finding arguments for, rather than against, gender-related rights within their religions. Through case
studies of religious gender justice activists in Colombia, Indonesia, Kenya, Pakistan, and in the United Nations,
REGEN will investigate the discourses, strategies, and networks of these actors, asking whether they can contribute
to depolarization of the field. The project will contribute new knowledge about a group of religious actors who have
hitherto received little attention from gender studies, religious studies and development studies, but who are central
to a sound theoretical and empirical understanding of the dynamics of religion and gender (in)equality, as well as to
development and foreign policy efforts to formulate effective responses to the backlash against gender rights.
Focusing on gender-based inequality, it contributes to achieving SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice,
and Strong Institutions).

Religious gender justice activism (GenderJustice)

Globale kriser knyttet til både klimaendringer og menneskelige konflikter, viser hvor akutt sårbart verdens matsystem er når det oppstår alvorlige situasjoner. Dette er særlig tydelig i områder hvor fattigdom og usikker tilgang på mat allerede er utbredt. Utfordringer med å bevare og lagre mat etter innhøsting er sentrale årsaker til manglende matsikkerhet over hele verden. I lav- og lavere mellominntektsland (LLMIC) skaper mangel på pålitelige energikilder og småskala produksjon enda flere hindringer.
En mulig løsning for å forbedre lokale samfunns evne til å bevare og lagre mat, kan være å tørke avlinger med tørkere drevet av solenergi. For å lykkes med å innføre denne teknologien, trengs det langsiktige forretningsmodeller utviklet i samarbeid med lokale interessenter.
Både Nepal og Bhutan i Himalaya-regionen er sterkt avhengige av landbruk for at folk skal ha et levebrød. Dette er samfunn hvor de tradisjonelt tørker sine matavlinger direkte i solen. Disse metodene har imidlertid vist seg ineffektive, uhygieniske og plasskrevende. Det fører til høye tap etter innhøsting. En forbedret soltørker, hvor avlingene tørkes i et lukket kammer, kan løse mange av disse utfordringene.
SolarFood har som mål å utvikle forretningsmodeller for å fremme innføringen av forbedrede teknologier for soltørking i Bhutan og Nepal. Begge land er definert som LLMIC-stater. Forretningsmodellene vil bli utviklet og testet av lokale interessenter, spesielt landbrukskooperativer ledet av kvinner. Gjennom å redusere tap etter innhøsting, vil SolarFood bidra til både å løse utfordringer knyttet til mattilgang / matsikkerhet og til å redusere fattigdom. Målet er å forbedre næringsinnholdet i soltørket mat og utvikle salgbare produkter.
SolarFood-prosjektet involverer et internasjonalt og tverrfaglig team av forskere, ledet av Ruralis – Institutt for rural- og regionalforskning i Norge. Partnere inkluderer Royal University of Bhutan, Kathmandu University i Nepal og Lunds universitet i Sverige.

Recent global crises have illustrated how acutely vulnerable the global food system is to food shocks. These vulnerabilities are most evident where poverty and food insecurity are already prevalent. Unless addressed, new causes of food insecurity (e.g. climate change, war) could undo and perhaps even reverse some countries’ progress towards the UNSDGs. 
One solution to this problem is to improve local communities’ abilities to store food. While post-harvest food loss is a leading cause of food insecurity globally, the lack of reliable energy supplies and the small scale of production make food preservation difficult in the LLMIC communities that need it most.
SolarFood aims to address this issue by developing functioning and field-tested inclusive business models to promote the introduction of improved solar food drying technologies in two LLMICs, Bhutan and Nepal. In improving the nutritional content of solar dried foods and developing marketable products, SolarFood addresses the issues of both food access/security and poverty reduction.
The project employes a participatory research approach, focusing on the co-production of knowledge with stakeholders to (a) explore alternative finance models, (b) develop community approaches to solar dried food production, (c) examine markets for SDFs, and (d) investigate technology implementation issues. These will lead to (e) the development of effective and inclusive business models for LLMICs.
The project involves an international team of researchers from Norway, Sweden, Bhutan and Nepal and combines knowledge from the fields of entrepreneurship, social sciences, marketing, food sciences, heat and mass transfer, and solar energy engineering.

Developing inclusive business model (BM) concepts for solar food drying in the Himalaya region

Myndigheter og internasjonale organisasjoner bruker i økende grad offentlige midler for å tiltrekke private investeringer til utviklingsprosjekter. Denne tilnærmingen, kalt "blandet finansiering" (blended finance), har som mål å redusere risikoen for private investorer og trekke mer penger inn i samfunnsnyttige prosjekter. Vi mangler imidlertid solid forskning på dens effektivitet og konsekvenser. I dette forskningsprosjektet søker vi å fylle dette kunnskapsgapet ved å studere hvordan blandet finansiering påvirker utvikling, balanserer offentlige fordeler med private gevinster, og potensielt endrer utviklingsmål. Sentrale utfordringer inkluderer: Håndtering av aktører med ulike målsettinger; Balansering av utviklingseffekt mot økonomisk avkastning; og Potensiell skjevhet i institusjonelle utforminger (f.eks. at noen aktører prioriterer utenlandske investorer fremfor lokale aktører). Ved å bygge en kunnskapsbase, tar prosjektet sikte på å 1) identifisere beste praksis og potensielle fallgruber, 2) bidra til å forbedre beslutningstaking i både offentlig og privat sektor, og 3) styrke kompetansen i utviklede land og utviklingsland om ulike aspekter ved blandet finansiering. Denne forskningen er viktig, mener vi, for å sikre at blandet finansiering kan bidra positivt og oppnår de tiltenkte utviklingsmålene. Prosjektet består av forskere fra ulike fagdisipliner fra Norsk Utenrikspolitisk Institutt, Addis Ababa Universitetet i Ethiopia og Fulbright School of Public Policy and Management i Vietnam. Forskningen vil undersøke både hvordan blandet finansiering praktiseres i sentrale giverland og hvordan slike prosjekter blir operasjonalisert og implementert i utviklingsland, med dybdestudier i hhv Vietnam og Ethiopia.

The use of public funding to "de-risk" and thereby "crowd in" private investments for development impact is increasingly widespread. And yet, there is very little academic research on the functioning and consequences of blended finance in terms of its developmental impact, the balancing of trade-offs between public gain and private profit, and the potential for goal distortion in development of this practice. Blending seeks to fill this knowledge gap and offer cross-disciplinary and policy-relevant knowledge about the functioning, possible biases, and effects of blended finance. For example, public actors in blended finance face multiple audiences with different mandates and objectives: Sometimes their institutional designs prioritize one audience at the expense of others: for instance, some investment promotion agencies in low-income countries are designed to see foreign investors as their main audience, not domestic actors. Against this backdrop, Blending aims to describe and explain how trade-offs between development impact and private returns on investment are assessed and acted upon. We embed this overarching focus within a broader research agenda on the actor ecology of development work, seeking to map and assess the types of actors that are involved, using what types of organizational practices in the design and management of blended finance, resulting in what types of judgements about risk, profit and development impact. By building a knowledge base on blended finance, and using this to identify best practices as well as potential pitfalls, the project aims to advance knowledge and competence across public and private actors in both developed and developing countries.

Trade-offs in Blended Finance for Development

Midlene fra PETROMAKS-Maksimal utnyttelse av petroleumsreserver fordelt på år

Midlene fra PETROMAKS-Maksimal utnyttelse av petroleumsreserver fordelt på fylker

Midlene fra PETROMAKS-Maksimal utnyttelse av petroleumsreserver fordelt på fagområde

Avdelingssjef

Advanced Resevoir Tracing (ART) - for improved oil recovery

The information revolution over the recent decades has changed how we think about consumption and production over a wide range of goods and services. Factors such as the consumer's limited choice possibilities at a given budget and the cost structure on t he production side has shown to be limited in explaining outcomes of markets for information goods. Rather elements such as lock-in, incomplete information, product heterogeneity, and network effects are considered to be of importance in explaining market  outcomes. In this research project I will develop theoretical models with the aim of explaining equilibrium outcomes under certain market condition with a special emphasis on software products. My research is organized in two sub-projects:
Sub-project 1:  Software piracy and its impact on commercial vs. open source software competition: In a market characterized by network externalities, how does the presence of software piracy affect pricing incentives of commercial software developers in competition wit h a free of charge open source competitor? What are the consequences for the competitive outcome? The results suggest that a combination of strong network effects and high degree of differentiation between products are likely to result in a market dominat ed by commercial software conditional on a initial competitive advantage in size of the installed base.
Sub-project 2: Platform competition with social networks on the buyer side:
Markets where buyers and seller interact over platforms such as operating s ystems and game consoles are called two-sided markets. Since sellers care about how many individuals they can sell to, and buyers care about the quality and quantity of the products sold over the platform, multiple Nash equilibria can emerge. This sub-pro ject aims to identify likely market outcomes whenever buyers engage in social networks, and their utility depends on the choices made by agents in their network in addition to the content available on platforms.

Competition in network goods markets

The mobile researcher, Amir Taherkordi, started his postdoctoral position at the University of Oslo (UiO) in December 2012, working broadly on software design, distribution and adaptation for embedded systems, sensor networks, and IoT systems. Amir is inv ited to carry out a 6-month research visit to Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburg, USA. The computer science school of CMU has a long-standing research effort on software architecture design and dynamic adaptation of software systems. Over past  few years, they have particularly focused on Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) from the software architecture viewpoint. CPSs are the next computing revolution with applications in medical systems, environmental control, safety and control, etc. CPS applicatio ns are primarily expected to be reliable, safe and secure (i.e., dependability). To meet these requirements, the CPS software system should support dynamic software adaptation. The special attributes of CPSs, such as high complexity and high degrees of au tomation and control make software adaptation a unique challenging issue in this domain. This project aims to address this from two complementary views: system-view and architecture-view. UiO has long experience in addressing the former for embedded syste ms, while CMU has been focusing on the latter for conventional software platforms over past decades. This joint project is aimed at proposing a generic adaptation software framework, including the software architectural model, for CPSs that promises a sol id and reusable software solution for dynamic adaptation of CPSs. Using this framework, the stakeholders in this domain (developers of CPSs in the industry and the academia) will be able to produce more dependable software for CPSs with less development e ffort.

Adaptable Software for Dependable Cyber-Physical Systems

Civil war remains a global challenge. Justice processes are often offered as solutions to prevent conflict reoccurrence; yet, little work has been undertaken to understand the prevalence of practices while conflict is ongoing. New data and historical case s show that trials, truth commissions, reparations, as well as alternative accountability measures such as amnesties, purges, and exiles are often implemented during violence. The current literature provides little theoretical understanding as to when and  why during-conflict justice processes are implemented and their likely effect on the duration of conflict and durability of peace. To address these deficiencies, support is requested from the Leiv Eiriksson mobility programme to support the travel and re search visit of Dr. Cyanne E. Loyle from West Virginia University for a three-month stay at the Peace Research Institute Oslo. During this time Dr. Loyle will work with Drs. Helga Malmin Binningsbø and Scott Gates to finalize the theoretical development a nd data analysis to advance our existing research collaboration on government's use of transitional justice during ongoing armed conflict. We will examine which justice processes, if any, a government implements during internal armed conflicts, in which c ontexts such processes are pursued, as well as what are the most likely outcomes from these interventions. The long-term goal of our efforts is to establish the rationale for the implementation of justice processes in relation to internal armed conflicts  during the violence, as part of political transitions and after such conflicts occur and to understand the likely outcomes of this implementation. Our overarching motivation is the desire to increase our understanding of the use and possible utility of du ring-conflict justice for the termination of ongoing conflicts leading to more effective conflict termination strategies and shortening the duration of civil conflict.

Understanding Justice During Conflict

Humanitarian logistics is about disaster preparedness, response, and recovery, and accounts for 60-80% of total costs with huge improvement potential. Project objectives are to establish cooperation with US humanitarian logistics research centre(s). Build ing on action research, the project will develop pedagogical tools for forecasting demand in disasters and for mapping capacities in disaster prone countries, and test these with GaTech-, MIT- and other post-graduate students, followed by co-authored pape rs in scientific journals. 
Critical R&D challenges are the gap between practice and research in management, and discussions about relevance vs. rigour, in general and in logistics, operations ? and supply chain management specifically. Action research ca n be one solution to obtaining both relevance and rigor, but is a relatively recent approach in the field, literature reporting few studies. This in spite of being an area that should be particularly well suited, given that the point of action research is  to experiment on real problems designed to assist in solution. Humanitarian logistics in particular lacks practical relevance and the literature does not report any action research. The main R & D challenge for the first study is that while practice reli es on needs assessment that have proven inadequate for the purpose of efficient planning and response, prevailing research claims that there is lack of data for demand forecasting. Our research will demonstrate that there is data and how it can be used fo r planning. For the second study, the main R & D challenge is to understand how disaster prone countries can prepare for disasters, building their own competence and capacity, and for what they need international assistance. 
Anticipated use of project fi ndings constitute the tools potential for improving practice and teaching. Results will contribute to more understanding of action research in humanitarian logistics in particular, and SCM & management in general.

Improving humanitarian logistics through action research - Disaster Relief Supply Chain Management

The current measurement accuracy of marine electromagnetic data facilitates using the technology to study fainter targets and also smaller geological details. Resolving these data responses by imaging software can be challenging when the magnitude of data  variations are dominated by variations in other geological features. This can be the case e.g. for a rough seafloor topography, presence of islands, or a coastline near the survey area. Although e.g. the seafloor topography can be measured to very high a ccuracy, the processing and imaging tools must accurately determine the effect on measured responses. 

Unlike the more commonly used rectangular grids, the use of unstructured meshes can accurately represent the effect of tilts and roughness in the geomo del. This is achieved by the arbitrary placement of grid nodes that facilitates tilted structure, and mesh spacing can be made denser in proximity of local geometrical distortions.

In this project, we will develop new 3D inversion software based on 3D un structured tetrahedral mesh representations and the finite-element approach to modeling. The computational complexity of such an approach is a significant R&D challenge, and we will develop an efficient inversion algorithm that can utilize the new modelin g approach to process large-scale datasets.

The new software will be applied to process a 3D real field dataset where current modeling approaches are known to be a limiting factor. The project will generate new knowledge both in the domain of numerical m ethods for processing of marine EM data and marine geology. The resulting software will enable processing of data acquired in the most complex environments, and the results from real field data processing will be submitted for publication in an internatio nal journal.

EMGS visiting researcher at Scripps Marine EM laboratory

Because of its presumed indicative and predictive relationship to social integration processes, rates and trends of intermarriage have been widely studied by social scientists throughout the 20th century, in recent decades followed by studies of the deter minants of intermarriage. Much of this research has assumed that spouse selection is intimately linked to labor market assimilation. Still, there have been few efforts to study the effects of intermarriage, and evidence concerning its consequences for eco nomic assimilation is recent and ambiguous.

This backdrop constitutes the rationale of this research mobility project. Benefiting from Norwegian register data, the project will provide novel evidence on the relationship between social integration and lab or market assimilation among immigrants and their descendants in Norway. One scientific article will compare the two principal methods applied in the literature to identify the causal effect of intermarriage on labor outcomes. Another scientific article w ill investigate the mechanisms through which this relationship is established more concretely. Both of these works will be greatly facilitated by a stay at UC Berkeley, particularly through collaboration with leading scholars in the areas of quantitative  sociology, integration and stratification research.

In addition to the publication of these articles in high-quality journals, the objectives of the mobility project include presentations at specific prestigious conferences (ASA and PAA), participation i n the Departmental Colloquium Series at UC Berkeley, and both improving a working research network and generate new routes of cooperation between quantitative sociologists in Oslo and Berkeley. 

The project will pioneer analyses of spouse selection and e conomic assimilation using quantitative methods and Norwegian register data, and will provide important knowledge relevant to current concerns and debates over integration, immigration and labor market policies.

Will You Assimilate Me? Intermarriage and Economic Assimilation for Immigrants in Norway

Over the past 30 years high blood pressure and diabetes, i.e. lifestyle-related causes, have become the most important kidney failure risks. The treatment is among the most expencive in medicine, patients have a low quality of life, and mortality rates ar e compareable to breastcancer with metastases.

However, treatment started in the early stages could be much more effective, but little is known about the metabolic changes induced by lifestyle related kidney disease. Such knowledge is potentially importa nt for finding new treatment options and markers of serious disease. 

NTNU Kidney Research Group have published many studies on early kidney disease in high-ranked international journals using epidemiological data from the HUNT studies. However, to move  forwards more basic research is needed. We collaborate closely with the Department of Biotechnolgy at NTNU, which has a large laboratory with state-of-the-art instruments for analysing small molecules (metabolomics; "the systematic study of the unique che mical fingerprints that specific cellular processes leave behind"). However, no research groups in Norway have much experience with such analysis in urine. 

University of California, San Diego represent an exciting mix of several research methods. The Ra ncho Bernando cohort represents a long and strong experience in epidemiological research. UCSD School of Medicine is among the top 10 US institutions in clinical kidney medicine. They are also running a highly reputated metabolomics laboratory studying di abetes nephropathy. Recently, UCSD was established as one of four US core facilities for metabolomics research.

Our research plan is now to continue to develop and run urine analysis her at NTNU for the next 12 months and then visit UCSD for general disc ussions, learn about new metabolomic techniques, run new analysis on our urine samples, and get help from world-class scientists in the very complicated interpretation our urine results.

Chronic kidney disease in Nord-Trøndelag: Risk evaluation and screening tests using clinical epidemiology and modern laboratory techniques.

The indoor environment is important for health and well-being of the general population, but the health impact of a number of indoor pollutants is poorly characterised. In the proposed project we focus on phthalates, a group of chemicals that leak out fro m plastics and are present in most indoor environments. Epidemiological studies concerning both indoor environment and occupational exposures have linked phthalates to development and exacerbation of asthma and allergy, but the involved mechanisms are lar gely unknown.  

To investigate the effects of phthalates on airway immunology we will perform a controlled human inhalation study. The focus will be on the upper airways (bronchi, trachea and nose) and effects on recruitment, activation and functionality  of immune cells. We will recruit allergen-sensitized individuals which will allow us to investigate if the phthalate inhalation modulates the inflammatory response after a nasal allergen challenge. 

The project will provide new knowledge concerning earl y effects of phthalate inhalation on airway immunology and contribute to identification of immunological biomarkers for phthalate exposure. Important outcomes of the project will be its contribution to risk assessment, identification of potential biomarke rs for human inhalation exposure to phthalates, and deeper understanding of the overall toxicology of phthalates.

Effects of phthalate inhalation on airway immunology: a controlled human exposure study

The Scandinavian Brown Bear Research Project (SBBRP) is the world's most projective bear project (perhaps the most productive large carnivore project) (155 scientific publications in refereed international journals and 18 completed PhD degrees).  It has b een active since 1984 and has captured more than 750 bears, many of which have been followed from birth to death, creating many generations of pedigrees.  I have been invited to spend my sabbatical year from UMB with researchers at the Interagency Grizzly  Bear Research Project at Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA and have decided to spend 6 months there.  This project has been active since 1975, has captured 650 bears, and has produced 89 scientific publications in refereed international jou rnals and 1 PhD degree.

Both projects are management-oriented and provide the scientific basis for the management of brown bears in Scandinavia and grizzly bears (same species) in the Yellowstone Ecosystem, respectively.  However, both projects also cond uct basic research that is important for understanding the ecology, life history, and behavior of bears specifically and large carnivores generally.  Thus, we have so much in common that we can benefit from close cooperation and by establishing cooperativ e research projects.  

My primary objective is to start long-term research cooperation based on our existing data bases.  My time with this project also will help me ensure that the SBBRP remains at the international cutting edge of research on large car nivores.

My secondary objective is to work on a scientific book entitled "The Scandinavian brown bear; ecology, life history, behavior, and management of a hunted species".  This book will summarize and synthesize the results from the first 30 years of o ur research project.  I will edit the book and coauthor many chapters in  with our cooperating researchers and former PhD students.  I will propose the book to Island Press, Washington, DC.

Syngery between the world's two most productive bear research projects

.NTNU has identified six thematic interdisciplinary strategic research areas in Climate, Energy, Environment, Health, Food and water. Under these thematic areas, ecotoxicology is an integral aspects of the all areas, particularly climate, environment, wat er and health areas. Indeed, these thematic strategic areas are significant aspects of Norwegian and global initiatives. Climate change and pollution may have significant effects on biological systems and resources, and environment includes natural divers ity, conservation biology and environmental pollution and may have significant consequences for human and environmental health. Arukwe has for the past 6 years been involved in capacity building projects in developing countries (Nigeria, Vietnam and South  Africa) to provide national and global expertise and integrated efforts for environmental solutions. Part of this training program involves the acquisition of expertise through collaborators and transferring those expertise to developing countries. Prof.  Arukwe will spend this period at Prof. Schlenk´s laboratory for specific purposes (1) initiate and involve Prof. Schlenk´s research group on the collaboration between NTNU´s department of Biology and University of Pretoria (South Africa), and (2) learn f rom Schlenk´s experience in hosting an international conference. Prof. Arukwe will host the 18th International conference on ?Pollutants Responses in Marine Organisms? PRIMO 18, in Trondheim Norway, 24-27 May, 2015. PRIMO 16 was hosted in Long Beach Calif ornia 2011 by Prof. Schlenk with big success and learning from that experience will guarantee success for PRIMO 18 in Trondheim. Overall, it is therefore on these notes and for national and global strategic reasons, that we combining efforts in understand ing the role of pollutants on wildlife and environmental health to provide a perfect ?tool? that connects several of these global issues of the 21st century.

Contaminant mediated reproductive and general health effects of an endangered species, The Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus)

The proposed research collaboration utilize data from university strategic plans as a lens for investigating how public universities in the U.S. and Europe have exercised newfound autonomy.  Strategic planning has become a ubiquitous process in higher edu cation, ostensibly linked to universities? long-term goals and resource-planning. These plans involve much of the university community, including academic staff and administrators, and typically provide explicit goals, metrics and identify how to achieve  these goals.  Because of its ubiquity and public nature, it is an appropriate vehicle to assess whether universities are exercising their autonomy in ways that are market-driven and entrepreneurial, and whether these strategies are likely to reduce in dri ft away from public goals. 

The project will compare the strategic plans of over 20 public universities in the US and Europe and will have implications for both policy and practice. Given the current policy emphasis regarding institutional autonomy, it i s of importance to analyse to what extent and how such policies impact the strategies of universities. For the field of higher education research, a comparative study of this kind is novel, and will link up to current discussions about the globalisation o f higher education, and how increased competition between universities impact upon system diversity.

Changing Missions in Public Higher Education: Analyzing Strategic Plans

We propose to continue to build a strong bridge between the highly theoretical work being done at the Cardiac Modeling Group at Simula Research Laboratory with the clinical and experimental expertise at the Cardiac Biomechanics Laboratory from the Univers ity of California, San Francisco (UCSF).   With this collaboration, we intend to continue to combine our expertise to create advanced patient specific cardiac models to answer important scientific questions and to test clinical hypotheses.  

There are tw o main scientific aims to the project.  The first is to leverage the work done in 2013 through a previous travel grant where we created a detailed electromechanical simulation of an infarct injured ventricle.  We plan to continue to use this developed mod eling pipeline, but also to extend its clinical relevance to not only predict how the heart behaves during a single beat, but to how the organ itself changes over time as a result of injury.   The second project will be to use Simula's simulation tools an d UCSF clinical data sets to create clinically relevant cardiac models to test a novel treatment method for heart failure.  We plan to use developed simulations to investigate its mode of action and optimize the treatment.  

In addition to working toward s common scientific goals, this research stay is intended to benefit both the participants through exchange of information.  The face-to-face time enabled by the grant will give UCSF training with our computational tools and allow input into its developme nt cycle, which will provide them with a powerful tool for their continued research. Meanwhile Simula will gain recognition for the dissemination of its software outside of Norway.  Also, this research stay will give Simula the ability to shape clinical e xperiments along their own needs, bringing back specialty data sets that will be both useful in tuning existing mathematical models as well as developing the next generation of tools for clinical simulation.

Electromechanical Models of the Heart as Predictive Clinical Tools

As the population ages there is an increase in degenerative ophthalmic diseases such as age related macular degeneration (AMD) and retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Both AMD and RP results in the loss of photoreceptor cells in the eye and there is currently no c ure for these medical conditions. One alternative that may restore vision is by aid of artificial retinal implants. Most of the retinal implants under development are based on micro- nanoelectronic devices, powered by external sources or incident light, t o activate the neural cells present in the eye. These implants face challenges regarding output power, heat production, biocompatibility and signal transduction efficiency. 

The use of light sensitive proteins can be the solution for these challenges. Th e BIRGE research group, together with Lambdavision Inc., has been exploring the photochemical properties of photoactive proteins, such as bacteriorhodopsin (BR), in their retinal implants. BR, when exposed to light, undergoes a photocycle that pumps proto ns which results in a pH gradient that can be used to activate the neural cells. BR has a quantum efficiency of 65% for the first photochemical event and, if targeted with a red photon in the O-state, it can reach an intermediate state (Q-state) which is  stable for more than 10 years. The Q-state is important to inactivate the BR implant in areas of the retina with working native photoreceptors.

Collaborating with the department of micro- and nanosystems technology at Vestfold University College (HiVe) w ill facilitate the construction of a sensor array (eg. CMOS (photo-) pixels) that may simulate the photoreceptor cells in the human eye. This will permit the investigation of a BR based retina system, in the Q-state, prior to clinical trials. 

This proje ct involves challenges regarding the immobilization of the BR on the surface of the sensor array and the stimulation of the BR into different states of its photocycle (eg. programing of the Q-state).

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